What does it mean to live a rich life?

Today’s global financial uncertainty makes that question a little more meaningful than it might have been two years ago, or five, or ten.

I recently changed the motto of this site, to reflect some clarification in my thinking.  I don’t want to simply promote the idea of creativity as some discrete activity we engage in every now and then: in those early morning hours we’ve dedicated to writing, or when we stand brush in hand before a canvas, or when we are in a brainstorming session, trying to explore vast, uncharted areas of our minds.

I want to expand the notion of creativity, until it hits its only natural boundary: the scope of our entire lives. I want to explore it as an attitude that can and will infuse every waking — and sleeping — moment in our lives, and inflect our every action.

In other words, it is not something that is separate from or takes place in the context of  “real life.”  It is real life.  And it is a critical ingredient of a meaningful life.

Practically speaking, what might this look like?  There is no single ideal of a creative life.  What feels dynamic and generative and inspirational for me, might drive you mad, and vice versa.  We can find out what works for each of us by exploring and experimenting with various combinations of six core aspects of creativity:

• Our skills of perception and awareness of our senses
• The persistence and volition needed to maintain a creative approach to everything
• The tools and techniques that we use to work within our own life cycle of ideas
• The role of culture and beauty in living a meaningful life
• The way we contribute our unique points of view while collaborating with others towards common goals
• Sharing our ideas and participating in the global cultural conversation