25 Ways to Explore Your Creativity

All of us start out creative in life, until school and work and adultish demands take over. And often, the ways we choose to explore our creativity as adults harken back to our early days of creativity as children.

But in between those years, our creativity tends to get stifled or pushed aside in favor of everything else. We forget that we were made in the image of God, the Great Creator of all – the One who spoke the world into existence, who designed the nature of light, the colors of the universe, the sounds that animals make, the aromas of flowers, the music of the spheres.

Since we are created in His image, that means we all have a measure of HIS creativity within us – and He has called us to use that creativity for good. In the very beginning of Genesis, God commanded humanity to cultivate the earth and exercise dominion over all things. That requires creativity! How can you plant a garden or decide how to use its fruits without first creating a plan? How can you care for animals without creating ways to feed and nourish each one? How can you fulfill any responsibility without creating new processes, goals, or routines?

You are called to be creative!

“God created us to be co-creators with him, to do ‘the things that God has done in creation—
bringing order out of chaos to create new things for the good of others.”
Jordan Raynor, Called to Create 

You may not be working in a garden every day, but each one of your unique roles and responsibilities require you to practice and explore your creativity. Even if you’ve never dabbled in arts-and-crafts, that doesn’t mean you can’t be creative. You might just need some simple ideas to get you started. There’s only two rules to keep in mind:

1. Limit how much time or money you spend.
2. Do not limit how many of your senses you engage!

Use every single one of of your senses in exploring and enjoying the world that’s already right around you. In fact, stop reading for a moment right now and name one thing (each) that you can see, hear, taste, smell, and touch. Or pick a color, and count how many things in that color you can find in your surroundings. Or if you’re in a busier environment, count how many different noises you can hear.

Creativity is such a beautiful gift from a good God, and one that we should find a way to enjoy and use for His glory! Can I encourage you to set aside some time to do that?

Here are 25 more simple (and inexpensive) ideas to try…

1. Visit a museum that has hands-on exhibits, and PLAY!
2. Plan a visit to one of those ‘color me mine’ type stores.
3. Learn something new at a local free workshop (check your library or community center).
4. Ask a friend to teach you a little about their favorite hobby.
5. Explore a new-to-you part of your favorite hobby/craft store.
6. Create a dozen different shapes with an unbent paper clip.
7. Buy (or pick) some flowers and try arranging them in a pretty mason jar.
8. Take 10 minutes to create something fun with PlayDough.
9. Arrange a bookshelf in 3-5 different ways – what do you like about each method?
10. Listen to music – without working on anything else. Just listen.
11. Try doodling or drawing something – it doesn’t have to look good!
12. Write your name, or just the first letter, in as many styles as possible.
13. Buy a colorful pack of pens or pencils, and use 3 different colors the next time you write.
14. Write a letter to a friend, a family member, or even your future self.
15. Create a simple poem, using each letter of your name to start a new line.
16. Buy a new-to-you ingredient at the grocery store, and learn how to use it well.
17. Smell each ingredient the next time you cook — how would you describe each item?
18. Try cooking or baking without being glued to the recipe – experiment with it!
19. Use all five senses to explore a new variety of apple, tomato, or some other produce.
20. Open your camera app and take a dozen pictures of everyday beauty.
21. See how many objects you can find in the clouds.
22. Set a timer, and spend 5 minutes really looking up at the night sky.
23. Count how many patterns you can find around your house (floors, textiles, furniture, etc).
24. Visit a garden and pick one flower to photograph and learn more about.
25. Pick a new flower to plant and cultivate in your yard or house this spring!

Can you suggest any other simple ways to explore your creativity?