A creative new normal: Who can we be in 20 years?

Can we live better—with greater health, joy, purpose, and creative vision—toward a new type of “normality”? Picture a one-size-fits-all conformist norm. Now contrast a dynamic evolving process-picture, different for each of us, honoring a diversity of ways we can all creatively—while harmoniously—gr...

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Main Author: Ruth Richards
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2023-08-01
Series:Journal of Creativity
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2713374523000079
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author Ruth Richards
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author_sort Ruth Richards
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description Can we live better—with greater health, joy, purpose, and creative vision—toward a new type of “normality”? Picture a one-size-fits-all conformist norm. Now contrast a dynamic evolving process-picture, different for each of us, honoring a diversity of ways we can all creatively—while harmoniously—grow and contribute together. This article, from a new 2022 talk, continues discussion of Creativity, Chaos and Complexity (or NDS, nonlinear dynamical systems theory) from a 2021 keynote at the SOU Creativity Conference. Using five examples, it expands on one key feature, a Creative New Normal—with potential challenges and benefits, now and in 20 years. Drawn from chaos and complexity constructs, five colorful examples are used to paint one portrait of the future. A person, when creating, says “I am...” Alive!, Visionary, On a Path, Containing Worlds, and Empathetic. A shift could affect (a) our worldview—furthering a long awaited change in both worldview and view of self-in-world, consistent with an NDS paradigm shift, now 50 years old in the “hard sciences” but only beginning in social sciences; plus (b) educational practice—with an opportunity, given dramatic new interest in our universal “everyday creativity” (versus limitation to an eminent elite in arts and sciences) to open floodgates for creative development. Development of chaos and complexity intuition can boost further this facility. Although some still insist “I'm not creative!” too many have lacked resources, teachers, mentorship and confidence for creative self-development. Opening this creative path as a birthright and cultural expectation can help us all survive and thrive—for self, society, and our endangered planet.
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spelling doaj.art-f68ee459f6f84e48bd6e695cea65773e2023-07-21T05:00:28ZengElsevierJournal of Creativity2713-37452023-08-01332100048A creative new normal: Who can we be in 20 years?Ruth Richards0Professor Emerita, Saybrook University; Associated Distinguished Professor, California Institute of Integral Studies, 1569 Solano Avenue, PMB 297, Berkeley, CA 94707, United StatesCan we live better—with greater health, joy, purpose, and creative vision—toward a new type of “normality”? Picture a one-size-fits-all conformist norm. Now contrast a dynamic evolving process-picture, different for each of us, honoring a diversity of ways we can all creatively—while harmoniously—grow and contribute together. This article, from a new 2022 talk, continues discussion of Creativity, Chaos and Complexity (or NDS, nonlinear dynamical systems theory) from a 2021 keynote at the SOU Creativity Conference. Using five examples, it expands on one key feature, a Creative New Normal—with potential challenges and benefits, now and in 20 years. Drawn from chaos and complexity constructs, five colorful examples are used to paint one portrait of the future. A person, when creating, says “I am...” Alive!, Visionary, On a Path, Containing Worlds, and Empathetic. A shift could affect (a) our worldview—furthering a long awaited change in both worldview and view of self-in-world, consistent with an NDS paradigm shift, now 50 years old in the “hard sciences” but only beginning in social sciences; plus (b) educational practice—with an opportunity, given dramatic new interest in our universal “everyday creativity” (versus limitation to an eminent elite in arts and sciences) to open floodgates for creative development. Development of chaos and complexity intuition can boost further this facility. Although some still insist “I'm not creative!” too many have lacked resources, teachers, mentorship and confidence for creative self-development. Opening this creative path as a birthright and cultural expectation can help us all survive and thrive—for self, society, and our endangered planet.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2713374523000079Everyday creativityProcessOpenDiverseWorldview and view of self-in-worldChaos and complexity theory
spellingShingle Ruth Richards
A creative new normal: Who can we be in 20 years?
Journal of Creativity
Everyday creativity
Process
Open
Diverse
Worldview and view of self-in-world
Chaos and complexity theory
title A creative new normal: Who can we be in 20 years?
title_full A creative new normal: Who can we be in 20 years?
title_fullStr A creative new normal: Who can we be in 20 years?
title_full_unstemmed A creative new normal: Who can we be in 20 years?
title_short A creative new normal: Who can we be in 20 years?
title_sort creative new normal who can we be in 20 years
topic Everyday creativity
Process
Open
Diverse
Worldview and view of self-in-world
Chaos and complexity theory
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2713374523000079
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