Creativity and the Mundane

There are many daily, regular tasks that we complete without much thought put into them.  We get used to doing certain things certain ways and don't really think about them.  We drive to work on the same route, we go through the grocery store in the same way, we relate to people in certain ways.

Sometimes there is simply a route that makes most sense so we take that.  Sometimes we go through the grocery store a certain way because we want to get certain foods just before leaving and sometimes we think we have people pegged.

Sometimes the things we do and the way we do them makes sense and take the least amount of time and energy to complete.  We all instinctively do common things in a common way to reserve our time, energy and effort for things that we think deserve them.

But sometimes we do them because it takes more time, energy and effort to stop doing them and that not a good reason to continue.  It's good to evaluate even those little things and ask some questions.  Depending on the answers to each of the questions, you might decide you're doing just as you should but leave yourself open to consider creative alternatives that might bring some sunshine to what had been drudgery.  You might just find that there are things you've been doing that you no longer need to, which will give you that much more time, energy and effort to do what your choose to do.

1. Why am I doing this task?
2. Why am I doing this task this way?
3. Should I really be doing this task?
4. Should I really be doing this task this way?

Living purposefully is powerful.  Doing what we do on purpose because it serves a purpose.  That's not to say there aren't things that are so mundane they don't matter; they can be done a number of ways and still meet the desired objective.  But sometimes we can bring our creativity to play in cleaning out the corners of our lives that might lead us to new discoveries about ourselves and those around us.

The same thing can be said about how we relate to those around us as well as how we perceive ourselves.  As an example, I have a colleague at work that I don't know intimately but I've always been on friendly terms with.  As any other person would do, I had certain pre-conceived notions about who she was.  We all do that.  And those notions are either challenged or confirmed with each conversation.  But my notions about this certain colleague, a highly professional, polished person who seems very "proper" recently underwent a massive challenge when I discovered that she'd been a drummer since she was a child and has played in jazz bands and other groups.  I would NEVER have guessed that about her.  It reminded me how dangerous it is to assume we have people figured out and put in the box.  People are infinitely more interesting that our imaginations can make them.

It takes someone willing to go beyond the known to winkle out those interesting aspects of other people's interests and character.  As an introvert, it takes a little more effort for me to do so but every time I make the effort, I find it's infinitely worth it.