Many years ago I read J.R.R. Tolkien’s essay “On Fairy Stories” which introduced the concept of “sub-creation”. According to Tolkien, the creation of fictional worlds is a natural inclination of humanity arising from our being created in God’s image. Creativity, then, is an integral of our nature as human beings. This is manifested in numerous forms, including literature, art, music, and science. Personally, I think it applies to many other areas as well. We just have to tap into it.

Today’s Theme: Fairy Stories & Creativity

Quote

What really happens is that the story-maker proves a successful ‘sub-creator’. He makes a Secondary World which your mind can enter. Inside it, what he relates is ‘true’: it accords with the laws of that world. You therefore believe it, while you are, as it were, inside. The moment disbelief arises, the spell is broken; the magic, or rather art, has failed. You are then out in the Primary World again, looking at the little abortive Secondary World from outside.

JRR Tolkien – “On Fairy Stories”

Article

In today’s article, the author says this about “creativity”: Creativity is a skill that allows you to draw understanding of the world around you, connect those observations to your existing knowledge reservoirs, and imagine new applications of your knowledge on the world.

https://99designs.com/blog/creative-thinking/what-is-creativity/

BONUS ARTICLE: It’s long but worth the read… https://artincontext.org/what-is-creativity/

Questions

• When in your life have you felt most creative? What was happening? What was the result?
• Where might you need to once again tap into that creativity?

Let’s embrace our personal creativity and unleash the power of our imaginations to make our mark on the world.