I'm not going to claim that babies are born as 'blank slate' with no personality traits or some predetermined instincts. However, underneath that apparent blank stare her is mind already sensing, experiencing, and developing. Everything is new. She has no preconceived notions of how the world should be. In fact, at this age her world is all about herself. (I think this attitude never really goes away and reappears in teenage years.)
As children, human beings are naturally creative and at some point or points as we mature we suppress this capacity. Some argue it is our educational system or even our Western culture. Regardless, to be creative adults need to look at the world through the eyes of a child, even a new born. We should step outside of our old patterns of looking at the world. I have a 9-year old daughter and when we play she always changes the the rules of the game by saying, "How about we do this?" I, of course, want the story line or rules of the game to be consistent. This is not a concern of my 9-year old; she revels in it.
What can children teach us about creativity? Here are some things I've come up with (so far).
- Try to look at the situation not only from a new perspective but from a frame of mind where the rules are not yet written.
- Continue to ask yourself questions like, "How about ...?", "What if...?", "So what...?".
- Regain an appreciation of 'play'-where participation in the activity is its on goal.
- Learn to be comfortable with ambiguity and inconsistency.
