The Birth of Creativity

Found this post interesting as it made me reflect on the important role of music in my life. I think this is part of the answer: 

"the paint just knew where to put itself on the canvas.“

That is what it is like when magic happens during a good jam. The notes and beats just know where to go. When it’s really good I can step outside myself almost as a third party observer marveling at what “those guys just did” as if I am not even one of them. I confess a few time (just a rare few) I have thought, “Wow look what I just did. How did I do that?”. 

I remember a few moments so clearly. NYE 2011 we were playing Take 5. One of the hardest songs we play - if you know it it is so deceptively simple and yet so very, very subtle in it’s complexity. Completely unplanned and unexpected we just killed the original and then it morphs into a more jazzy and then hard rocking version before melting back into the original. When it was done one of the band members who doesn't play this song with us asks the four of us who do, "Where did that come from?". We all kind of looked around and then I said, ‘We don’t know how it happens. It just happens sometime. We know what each other is going to do next somehow”. One of my relatives was there who usually kind of sniffs at our playing but even she said later, “You were amazing. The group was amazing”. Probably was the peak of my skills at the time - not so much now due to all kinds of distractions.

We’ve played this "Take 5 Rocks" version since then, morphing from original to hard rock to original. It works well but the first time was the real magic….

I told a friend about this and she said:

 “You just described what many people experience with meditation! You expanded beyond yourself and things just happened. Drums are your way and many traditions actually use drums.”

I am well aware of the meditation connection. Same thing with gardening and hiking - activities that I crave so much. 

The use of repetitive, rhythmic physical activity (beating drums, placing one boot after the other, weeding or digging potatoes) is a great way for me to achieve something like a state of meditation.

This is something worth thinking about when balancing work and life. My own experience has been that making time for these other activities recharges me and helps with creative problem solving. Far from wasting time, these kinds of activities probably make us happier and more productive in a more sustainable way.

I think I'll go bang on my drums...