On Creativity

What exactly is creativity? We notice children play with things that aren't toys and say: "Boy, he's being creative." Trevor, our 2.5 year old boy is happy to haul a spent thread spool on his John Deere tractor and trailer. Why this combination? To his credit, the spool does sort-of resemble a hay bale. Just sort-of though. And we (adults) think: "Thats neat, the spool fits inside the trailer really well." Likely though, we would not think of said combo. What is it that children tend to have and adults tend to lack?

Is it perhaps simply the willingness to try things without the fear of being different or criticized or even critiqued? Children simply are. They live in their mostly carefree world, happy to follow the happy whims of their productive minds.

You may counter with: "Well, that's childish". It is, but does being a grown-up require us to lose our sense of exploration to the mundane pursuits of "what adults do"? Perhaps this world would benefit from us relooking at things from a vantage point of fresh childlike curiosity.

I, certainly, would benefit.