I was once asked to do a paper on creativity and life. “Creative living” was the first title to pop in my head. Didn’t like it. “Create to live”. “Live to create”, perhaps? Nah. With one minor verbal change, using Descartes’ most famous line, I went for “I create, therefore I am”.
Excellent! Title accomplished!

Then I felt quite miserable for two days, 5 hours and 23 minutes becoming aware that I might not exist! For crying out loud I was not creating anything! My paper still had just the title written. Lonely, on the top of the whitest sheet of paper that ever existed, but also majestic in capital and bold letters. The five-word title stared at me directly in the eye and I felt challenged. Still, also miserable. I was tasting my own little poison: I was about to shout to the world: “Go create, you losers! For without creation, one does not live! Create! Live! I dare you all!!” And there I was, dead for two days, 5 hours and 23 minutes…

Then it struck me! Ha!! I was creating. Coming back from the dead, I sat down and typed these you’re reading. Why should I tell people what and how to live their lives? I thought greater ahead. People should DO. Creating was something else. Creation brings responsibilty, expectations. Doing brings reaction. So there I was acting on both sides: doing what was requested by creating something new. I felt like a conquerer. I ruled!

Instead of being all psychological and philosophical about creation, life, methods, benefits, children, problems and solutions, I looked at it the other way around and I propose to all of you to try something. Like these lines that yielded me a great number of new readers: I used the “wrong” kind of thinking. I followed another string of thought.

So do, create, live, whatever. But just remember: sometimes “all you need is the wrong imagination”! And off you live, you winners!