Every month, the creative community of San Diego comes together on an early Friday morning at CreativeMornings San Diego (CMSD) in order to share and exchange ideas as well as their work. A breakfast consisting of coffee and pastries is provided to attendees, and each event is centered around a theme related to creativity.
In addition to facilitating an exchange of ideas, CMSD also invites guest speakers to give 20-30 minute talks that center around the monthly theme and how it relates to their work or the creative process. Themes from past events have included magic, transparency, love and weirdness. Each theme not only captures aspects of creativity, but also captures various aspects of human life such as emotions, life events and our attitudes towards life. Featured speakers are often accomplished individuals in their professions, whether it be journalism, ceramics or entrepreneurship.
Creativity is an essential and inherent part of life, whether people consider themselves creative or not. Contrary to popular belief, creativity is not a natural skill that only a select few people possess. It is also not limited to the arts or certain professions. You do not have to be a skilled artist, designer, music composer or actor in order to be creative. In other words, everyone is creative if they let themselves be. It is a skill that can be cultivated throughout our lifetime if we allow ourselves to be open-minded, embrace changes and invest in our hobbies and passions.
Attending CMSD has not only changed my perspective on creativity, but it has also changed my overall attitude towards life. I used to think that I'm not creative because I'm not an amazing photographer or art major, but now I believe that creativity can be found anywhere if we allow ourselves to search for it. Creativity can be found in our day-to-day life, whether it be the way we dress, do our makeup or decorate our apartments. It can be found in the way we interact with others, tell our stories or spend time by ourselves. Every method of accomplishing tasks for the greater good and profession requires some degree of creativity. Even the most 'uncreative' jobs such as the STEM fields or minimum wage jobs require some creativity.
It's more important that people accept life the way it is rather than trying so hard to understand everything. We cannot always fully understand the people around us or why events happen, no matter how hard we try. Being creative is about pushing our limits and allowing ourselves to embrace the process rather than rushing into things. We need to be strong, find our voice and love what we do, but we also need to embrace vulnerability, boredom and disappointment as part of the creative process.
CreativeMornings is a monthly meetup for creatives and currently has 150+ chapters throughout the world. To find out more about the organization or find a meetup closest to you, click here.
