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Tap into Your Creativity and Reap Benefits
by Nancy Eustis June 29, 2010
Gene Cohen, the renowned psychiatrist and gerontologist, defines creativity as “the process of bringing something new into existence.” To Cohen, author of The Creative Age and The Mature Mind, creativity isn’t for the talented few and it isn’t just about artistic expression. Not only can everyone be creative; but, as we age, the combination of a lifetime of knowledge and experiences heighten our potential for creativity.
A person can demonstrate creativity in any number of ways from artistic expression to scientific breakthroughs to a beautiful garden, a new hobby, or public-spirited community work.
Cohen tells the story of his in-laws arriving to visit him in Washington D.C. in a snowstorm and in need of a
taxi to get to his home. It was rush hour and there was no taxi to be had. His father-in-law had an idea. He walked into the nearby pizza shop and ordered a pizza to go. He gave the cashier the Cohen’s address and
said, “There is one more thing. We want you to deliver us with it.” They arrived with the pizza in hand. Cohen wonders if a younger person would have come up with as creative a solution.
Based on his extensive work with older adults, Cohen names four benefits of creativity:
- Creativity strengthens our morale in later life. Creativity gives you the ability to see fresh perspectives and, as a result, better able to transcend or cope with adversity.
- Creativity contributes to physical health as we age. Preliminary findings from numerous studies suggest that creativity provides a physical and emotional boost as it furthers interactions between emotions, brain functions, and the immune system.
- Creativity enriches relationships. Living life creatively changes everyone’s view of what it means to age and offers many opportunities to strengthen connections with others.
- Creativity is our greatest legacy. Creativity provides a venue for demonstrating the value of life experience and wisdom. It is the perfect legacy to leave our children, grandchildren, and society.
Cohen suggests there are three patterns for creativity in later life: commencing creativity, continuing or changing creativity, and creativity connected with loss.
There are ample stories of people discovering creative expression or finding a new way of being creative at a late age. Martha Graham, in her 70s and 80s, reportedly used a summation of her dancing years as the basis for teaching others to dance. Cohen tells of an exhibit at Washington’s Corcoran Gallery of Art of leading African American folk artists. Of the 20 exhibitors, 80 percent had begun or reached their mature phase of art after age 65.
Creativity associated with loss is a little less obvious but offers a reason to be optimistic in light of the losses associated with aging. Cohen tells the story of William Carlos Williams, a poet and pediatrician. Williams suffered a stroke in his sixties. A loss of motor skills made him give up his medical practice. As a result, he became deeply depressed. After refocusing his energies on photography, he had a major turnaround. At 79, he was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for his photos.
How do you nurture creativity in your life? Peggy Wright makes some excellent suggestions in her article
on pages 2 and 3 of the July VAN e-Bulletin. For more information about the benefits of creativity, don’t miss this month’s VAN Forum with guest speaker, Susan Perlstein.
