Quilting: A Philosophical Journey -The Human Need to Create

Creativity is a trait that we are all born with.  It is something that we have a natural need to develop or do.   Somewhere along the way during growing up, some of us have come to believe that we just are not creative type people.  I have a couple of thoughts behind this that I will break down in a bit.  But, for now, let me just say this: 

All of us are surrounded by children, in some way.  They love to color, draw, glue stuff, and make crafts.  Course, as adults, we naturally see the lessons they learn through it.  For example, learning colors, hand/eye coordination, numbers, problem solving, or large and fine motor skills.  The list goes on and on.  We also know that they are learning their creative side through these activities and we can see some evidence of this in other places of their being.  I mean, how many times have we been surprised at something they said or thought?  And yes, we all have experienced when a child really wants something and they get very creative on how to get it. 

But somewhere along the way, they began to believe they just were not creative type people.  My first thought that comes to mind is that someone told them that when they were younger.  It may have been an art teacher or another teacher, and maybe their grades were even affected by it.  Or it was someone laughed at their drawings or craft project.  Maybe even a friend or family member said something not so positive.  Whatever their experience was, something resonated with them strongly enough to make them believe it. 

My other thought that comes to mind is that I believe we tend to be taught to think “inside the box” while we are in school.  Notice I said tend to…there are some fantastic teachers that embrace creative thinking, not only within their selves, but also with their students.  I also have some friends that are teachers that I know get frustrated because they cannot do certain things.  Please understand, I am no child psychologist or expert, and I am not an expert on child education.  These are simply my thoughts and personal beliefs.  So, I believe we tend to be taught “inside the box” type of thinking in school.   And then, when we branch out into the “real” world, people are looking for those “outside the box” type thinkers or ideas.  Sometimes it is difficult for us to change our core mindset on what or how we have been taught.

The last thought is how people tend to think of creativity.  Until my late 20s or early 30s, I also fell into this category.   You see, I grew up believing that I was completely awful at anything related to art or creativity.  In all honesty, I do not know the real reason why.  It may have been because my mother is a phenomenal painter and can draw like no one’s business.  She did all sorts of artsy type things:  macramé, crochet, ceramics, sewing clothes, and quilting (to name only a few).  Her creativity showed through everything she made.  To top that off, my dad could draw a mean cup of coffee, could sing like a boss, and is a stronger writer.  As an only child, I think it is possible that I compared my abilities to theirs.  When my things that I made or created did not look or sound like theirs, I eventually gave up on that kind of art.  I conceded to the idea that it was not in my stars to be creative.  What I did not realize is that I was creative.  As a child, I found my creative side in dancing.  However, as I aged, I saw it in teaching/educating/training and in leadership/management.  Where do you find your creativity?

Have you ever heard of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs?  Do you remember what it looks like, what it is, and what it means?

Maslow’s pyramid of the hierarchy of needs is a physical representation of what he sees as needs that need to be met to motivate the human individual to eventually become all they are supposed to be.  Each step in this pyramid is necessary for human development.  The idea is that they find their way to the top of the pyramid by meeting most of the needs of each tier to achieve the final process of “Self-Transcendence.”  He used people like Thomas Jefferson, Albert Einstein, Harriet Tubman, Walt Whitman, Beethoven, and Franklin D. Roosevelt (to name a few) to study people that were not necessarily “ordinary” to understand why some are in the top 2 tiers of the pyramid and others are not and what needs are met to achieve that level of motivation to be there.  Not everyone uses this theory in practice, but we are all taught about it at some period of time.  In nursing, we learn that we cannot help someone going through a heart attack, stroke or major trauma by collecting essential  information from them until their basic physiological needs are met (first tier).  So, it is first important to make sure they are without pain and their vital signs are stable before we collect that information.  We have to meet their first level of needs before it is possible to move to the next.  For ourselves, we can ask what needs are not being met that would allow us to move to the next tier?  It is a basic outline of priorities.

I could go through every tier of this pyramid and explain what the motivations are for each one.  However, I want you to focus on the 2nd from the top tier, “Self-Actualization,” for this topic.  The idea of this level is that you are innately designed to be everything you are to become and will strive to do so.   Yes, the U.S. Army had it right with their ad song, “Be all that you can be.  You can do it, in the Army.” ( I don’t know how many of you sang that as you read it, but I most definitely sang it while I wrote it…lol.)  The idea for this level according to Maslow was, “What a man can be, he must be.”  Although this tier is becoming all that you can, Maslow understood that it was individualized.  This means that if you are meant to be a writer, you write.  If you are meant to be a painter, you paint.  If you are meant to be a small business owner, you run a small business.  If you are meant to be a philosopher, you philosophize (is that really a word?). If you are meant to be a leader, you lead.   If you are meant to be an athlete or an actor, you perform.  If you are meant to be a quilter, you quilt.  Whatever that thing is that you do, you do it.  And if you are not doing it, you will have a sense that something is missing in your life (after you meet most of the needs in the other tiers first, of course). 

Now there is a whole bunch of stuff that has to happen on Maslow’s pyramid before you reach the idea to be what you are meant to be.  However, one of the many characteristics of someone who is a self-actualizer is that they are highly creative.  And guess what?  No matter what it is that they need to do to achieve self-actualization, creativity at some level will be involved.  We have a human need to create and be creative.  Plain and simple.  So, embrace your creativity and your need to create!  Not only will you be better for it, but however or whatever you create will make our world a better place.

This is probably the hardest topic in this series for me to write.  I have gone down some serious rabbit holes trying to convey a meaningful message.  Sometimes I write on a computer and sometimes I write with paper and pen.  This time was a combination of both, allowing me to really try and focus on the message.  There is just so much on this topic, I really could write a book on this subject alone.  But what, I hope, you take out of it is that you do have a “need” to create.  In addition, if you are a quilter, like me, that need can be fulfilled through your next quilt. 

Until next time, may you continue to be inspired, productive, and joyful!  And never stop making your dreams in quilting come true!

-Angel

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