Pausing for creative moments

I have been exploring creativity in daily life over the past few months. As a result, I’ve been alert to instances of how others, especially those with busy lives, find inspiration and the time to act on it. I always listen to Michael Barone’s program Pipedreams on Minnesota Public Radio (he’s carried nationally through American Public Media). On Sunday, October 26, his program featured the young organists studying at the Curtis Institute of Music. Their teacher, Alan Morrison, is not only a professor at the Institute, but also a composer and a performer who has two daughters—one is three and the other is one year old. During the interview part of the program, Morrison commented how much of his evenings are spent putting his daughters to bed, and that one night, as the littlest one successfully fell asleep, he sat watching her face. During those peaceful moments at the end of a busy day, Morrison mused on what his daughter’s dreams were like. That inspired him to compose his latest piece. I thought, if someone so caught up in an international career as a concert organist, an instructor, and a father can still notice those moments of inspiration and act on them to create, then why am I waiting for the perfectly peaceful stretch of time? Inspiration and creativity can happen regardless of a crowded agenda or daily tribulations. To hear the program and the interview with Morrison, listen at http://pipedreams.publicradio.org/listings/2008/0842/