Creative Block
During the next two minutes, how many alternative uses can you think of for an ordinary brick? Aiming to access our creativity, this harmful question has been asked for years. Don’t think of enough paperweights and bookends and you’re branded as uncreative and discouraged from trying again. While this inquisition certainly measures something, it misses the point that creativity is elusive, can take a context with time for reflection, imagination – and creativity doesn’t just perform on demand.
I had my own less than ordinary brick problem when Hurricane Sandy decided to transplant a hundred year oak onto my roof – toppling my chimney in a way that would have earned a Facebook “like” from the Big-Bad-Wolf. After rebuilding and cleaning up Sandy’s mess, I was left with a whole pile of spare bricks. What to do with them all? Just think of the possibilities!
Then, for nearly two years, while I was busy with writing, paintings, and photography, these unused bricks served as a towering monument to my apparent lack of creativity on demand.
This spring without the tree, I noticed sunlight on my previously shaded property.
new life for old bricks
Sun light was the missing ingredient for a vegetable garden but what could I use to raise the beds? Finally reusing the bricks completed the circle of life. The next time you are asked for alternative uses for a brick… Let them know that creativity often takes time and that you’ll get back with them in about two years.