10 Quotes on Creativity and Freedom
How do you define freedom?
Is it a matter of political rights? Does it depend on where you live or where you work?
Each of us has the opportunity to find freedom in our day to day living should we choose to look for it. We may not have as much freedom as we’d like, though there is something to be said for having to overcome challenges.
Freedom in creativity can be surprisingly elusive for many artists. We all too often allow deadlines, self-doubt, financial hardship, busyness, and countless other factors to guide us away from the chance to get lost in the artwork.
I think of freedom in creativity as that moment when you know that you’re getting your project. You’re really in the zone, and every idea seems to weave in perfectly with the art. You might have to come back and clean it up later, but it’s the moment of inspiration and productivity to truly create, to give birth to a new piece of beauty.
Today, we celebrate freedom in creativity with ten quotes from artists and philosophers.
“When you are completely absorbed or caught up in something, you become oblivious to things around you, or to the passage of time. It is this absorption in what you are doing that frees your unconscious and releases your creative imagination.”
– Dr. Rollo May
“Optimism is a strategy for making a better future. Because unless you believe that the future can be better, it’s unlikely you will step up and take responsibility for making it so. If you assume that there’s no hope, you guarantee that there will be no hope. If you assume that there is an instinct for freedom, that there are opportunities to change things, there is a chance you may contribute to making a better world. The choice is yours.”
– Noam Chomsky
“Anxiety is the dizziness of freedom.”
– Soren Kierkegaard
“Sometimes you’ve got to let everything go – purge yourself. If you are unhappy with anything . . . whatever is bringing you down, get rid of it. Because you’ll find that when you’re free, your true creativity, your true self comes out.”
– Tina Turner
“Because it is a radical act of freedom, creative achievement is a heroic process that requires, in all its permutations, specific strengths of character.”
– Robert Grudin
Background image provided by freefotouk
“When freedom prevails, the ingenuity and inventiveness of people creates incredible wealth. This is the source of the natural improvement of the human condition.”
– Brian S. Wesbury
“Life in itself is an empty canvas; it becomes whatsoever you paint on it. You can paint misery, you can paint bliss. This freedom is your glory.”
– Osho
“Fear, which is the result of our desire to be secure, makes us conform, imitate and submit to domination, and therefore it prevents creative living. To live creatively is to live in freedom, which is to be without fear; and there can be a state of creativeness only when the mind is not caught up in desire and the gratification of desire. It is only by watching our own hearts and minds with delicate attention that we can unravel the hidden ways of our desire. The more thoughtful and affectionate we are, the less desire dominates the mind.”
– Jiddu Krishnamurti
“Get a human skull and put it on your desk. The thought of death is both a relaxant and a stimulant. It frees you up and brings you perspective. It makes us feel usefully small.”
– philosopher Alain de Botton
“Creativity can replace conformity as the primary mode of social being…. We can cling to that which is passing, or has already passed, or we can remain accessible to–even surrender to–the creative process, without insisting that we know in advance the ultimate outcome for us, our institutions, or our planet. To accept this challenge is to cherish freedom, to embrace life, and to find meaning.”
– Stephen Nachmanovitch
What was your favorite quote?
Do you have another quote that relates? Share in the comments below.