Does Maturity Exclude Creativity?
I worry that with every passing year, creativity will dim. Ideas will die out, buried beneath the weight of capitalism. To work, to get, to chase. Always money, never dreams. I worry passions may never take root because labor wins all the races. Yet humans need to write, to read, to walk, to grow. Still, time ticks, and nature’s blessings are priced. It feels like an impossible feat to hold onto them.
As children, creativity in all its forms was encouraged. Coloring and painting, writing and reading, listening to music and playing instruments. There was an almost universal understanding that these pursuits were integral to healthy development. Art and music classes were built into school curriculums because children need to be creative. Toys were made for every stage of childhood because imagination is crucial. Does all of this suddenly stop mattering when you reach a certain age? Does maturity exclude creativity?
I believe there are a few reasons this absence of creativity in adulthood occurs.
One: We like to do things we are good at. Since adults have autonomy over their lives, they often avoid activities that expose them to feelings of inadequacy. Why pick up a paintbrush if you’ll never produce something like Picasso?
Two: The constant fear of life’s countdown. Adults are alarmingly aware of time: how much they have, how much is left, how much is slipping away. And so, why spend precious hours on something that doesn’t directly benefit them or lead to worldly accolades? If their art doesn’t compare to Picasso’s, they won’t make money or rise to fame.
Three: The dreadful, dooming question: What is the point? The belief that if nothing tangible comes from art, then it isn’t worth doing.
And to these reasons, I respond:
One: You mustn’t only do what you are good at, it leads to stagnation. A comfort zone may feel safe, but it can also be suffocating. Novelty is the mind’s purest medicine, and without it, you risk being consumed by the familiar. It is possible to enjoy the process of creating rather than the outcome. Sometimes the journey is more memorable than the destination. Give a child paint and canvas, and when they finish, they won’t ask you to hang it up, they’ll ask for another canvas. Creation over production.
Two: Time is a complex concept, often feared as scarce. But why let that fear paralyze you? Time will pass, no matter how you fill it. Why not spend it enriching your mind with new ideas? Allow yourself to form new connections through art. Time is often just an illusory excuse for avoidance. If your only purpose comes from fulfilling material desires, you may never feel fulfilled. Life is more than the work we do and the things we buy. Of course, those are essential parts of living, but they don’t need to be the only parts. There is room for more. There is time for more.
Three: Creativity is essential, primal. It brings countless benefits, from brain health to mood stabilization to physical well-being. That alone could be the point at its most basic level. But the deeper answer to “What is the point?” is different for each of us. And the only way to find it is through the journey of creative expression. Release it on a page, in color or in ink. Build it, bake it, sew it, grow it, live it.
Creation is apart of our history. Let’s not allow it to be forgotten in our future.
