Creativity and Freedom

Creativity is an exquisitely human faculty that is essential for the evolution of man and for his personal growth. Creativity and freedom are inseparable. Freedom—the internal as well as the external condition—is also exquisitely human, and it lays the foundation for creativity. Mental health hinges upon both.

Growth, development, evolution are processes governed by rules similar to the biologic laws underlying all living matter. The most characteristic of them, the very sign of life itself, is that it can copy and reproduce itself. Reproduction, regeneration and creation are at the core of the most profound emotional and spiritual experiences in living. The complex multidimensional growth of the human being as a whole can be grasped in terms of creativity.

Culture is part of man's biologic heritage, although it is passed along by society and not through the genes. Culture is so much a part of our psychological environment that it enters the world of objects around us. Cultural issues and values have a distinct impact on individual development.

Neither socially transmitted culture nor gene transmitted biologic characteristics can establish exclusive claim. The study of man becomes a comparative study of cultural differences within genetic sameness. Everything that is handed down either through heredity or culture is grist for the individual's creative mill.

Creation, in the biblical sense, is full of wonderment at changes that are not directly explainable, immediately visible, or accountable for logically. Creativity, as perceived in its beginnings, is the inherent, innate essence of living matter—the living idea or passion full of marvels. The creative impulse is a general characteristic of any human endeavor be it directed toward bringing into existence something new, or reconstructing issues, or bringing to life what had been forgotten or invalidated. The primary zest or initial stirring is an enigma and remains so when we are confronted with it; there is no scientif