How Do You Define Creativity?
There is no recipe, there is no one way to do things — there is only your way. And if you can recognize that in yourself and accept and appreciate that in others, you can make magic. — Ara Katz
How you define creativity is a deep question and one that I invite you to explore and sit with on your own. Maybe this is through meditation or journaling, or maybe it will come to you while you’re in the shower or on a walk. Your answer might also change as you sit with the idea of what being a creative means. For me, especially when I tell people what I do for a living, some will say, “I wish I was that creative,” or, “ I wish my job was creative,” and to that I say: EVERYTHING is creative!
This past week, both of my children were sick and at home while I worked on multiple deadlines, and it was A LOT! I decided to sit down and create an unedited voice note about how I define creativity. While I created the voice note, I was out of breath from running up and down the stairs with laundry, but it didn’t matter, I wanted to share my real life and what it looks like for the creative spark to hit and to take the time to listen to it (see my previous post if you want to dive deeper).
Listen to My Voice Note on Defining Creativity:
If you prefer to read, here’s what’s in the voice note: To me, creativity is the way you do the dishes, make your meals, parent humans or pets, and make decisions—everything is creative. It may not feel like that, but when you start to look around through the lens of creativity, you can see it.
You can notice creativity in the way you type or the way you make your coffee—these are all creative acts. What you might think of as “traditional creativity” like picking up a paintbrush, writing this newsletter, or singing a song all require creativity, but there are also the 10,000 tiny acts of creativity that happen before and after that creation in your day-to-day life.
I can’t wait to hear what you think! Let me know how you define creativity in the comments below.
Always cheering you on!
xo Chef Carla
PS: For paid subscribers, we will have our first Nourishing Creativity virtual retreat on Saturday, 10/21, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. EDT. Please mark your calendars and get ready to have dedicated time to work on your creative project. I will send a link in October.
What’s Nourishing My Creativity Right Now:
Realizing that no one asks you to cook breakfast or lunch when you are working on a photo shoot; it was one of my favorite parts of working on food styling shoots in NYC. I ordered three days of Sakara meals for lunch and dinner this week. It was amazing to have meals done for me so I could have more time to make my vision come to life. Use the code XOCHEFCARLA for 20% off | Order your meals
Sharing how ceremonial cacao has strengthened my connection to my ancestors with the Pinterest community for Latinè Heritage month | Read more
Laughing so hard listening to Cody Rigsby’s new book, XOXO Cody. If you need a boost in your spirits | Listen here
Watching Good Chemistry: The Story of Elemental on Disney+ with my family. Good Chemistry tells the real-life story that inspired Elemental, a movie about two elements, fire and water, that fall in love by director Peter Sohn, a Korean American. My children are Korean American, and my partner Ed is from Seoul, Korea. Hearing Peter’s family story and how it inspired the movie was inspiring and heartwarming and connected us to our family’s Korean culture. | Watch the trailer
Posting my conversation, “How Present Are You? An Opportunity to be Mindful with Patricia Pinto. Taking her Pilates mat training twice gave me such incredible confidence in how I show up fully in my body and in my life. | Listen here
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