The Perks of a Creative Mind

The First in our 'Inspiration' theme series. A captivating and in-depth writing on the working of a creative mind.

Let’s get creative

Historically, the creative mind has been stimulated in a variety of colourful ways; scenery, emotionally charged experiences such as love or, if you happened to be involved in creatively orientated cliques during the 1960’s, lots of hallucinogenic drugs. However, whilst each individual has their own outlook on where creativity derives from and what the word means, many would agree that it’s a state of mind in which one can find a degree of solace within themselves and the surrounding world. I, personally, find creativity cathartic when I use it to enlighten the reality of my own emotional situation.

I was watching a documentary about Syd Barrett for example and, whilst I admire his music, the same can’t be said for the story which the makers pieced together from the shrapnel of information which survives from his reclusive life. The thought that other people were probably inhaling the fresh summer air, whilst I was sitting alone in my room watching an old man called Norman witter on about how he produced an obscure song for Syd in 1968, didn’t do much to drown out my adolescent misery. This was heightened by the fact that the song he was speaking about transpired to be “Jugband blues”; one of Pink Floyds least famous hits and one which made the co-creator “rather embarrassed to put it mildly.”

Fortunately, I refused to let my melancholy, induced by this anti-climactic and slow paced piece of footage, sag me down. I was inspired to get creative and decided to liven up my idle, isolated hours as a teenager by affectionately mocking documentaries which base themselves around ex- band members telling stories of the rebellious, culturally significant antics of their glory days.

After having spent many hours glued to these types of documentaries I’ve deduced some common patterns in their structure which are easy to satirise. They usually begin with bitter former band mates sitting alone in their country mansions, lamenting about how so and so used to annoy them when they ate an olive without a cocktail stick. Towards the end it tends to sporadically flip to the member who all the fans assumed was dead; eyes bloodshot from the latest stint in rehab, they look directly at the camera and often hurl a series of expletives about the ex- manager. I can only assume that their appearance is expertly timed by the directors to renew a bored viewers interest with the faint hope of a reunion. Summarily, and whilst this characteristic is doubtlessly reserved for almost any documentary made before the turn of the millennia, they also have an innate tendency to “beat around the bush”.

And so I spent time writing my mockumentary called “the Egalitarians”; each fictional character is interviewed separately and tells the story of their time as part of this washed out band from the 80’s. Whilst this piece of satire is never going to be commissioned by the BBC on the merit of a smattering of awful puns (one band member says he’s a vegetarian because he thinks killing sheep is “barbarous”) the process of writing it made me laugh. The script is deservedly growing mouldy but it serves as an example of how creativity can lift your spirits.

Rather than getting caught up in a cycle where all I ever dwelt on was discontent, I found a way of lifting myself from a sullen mood by enlightening reality with the imagination. I was liberated in my fantasy world and able to escape.

Even if you only reveal something on a piece of paper which no one else has read, or in any of the infinite amounts of forms which creativity can take, the process has stood the test of time because it allows you to materially capture your essence as a human being.

#Inspiration #SamuelDighton #Life