“I have a terrible clarity of mind at times, when nature is so lovely these days, and then I’m no longer aware of myself and the painting comes to me as if in a dream.” from a letter by Vincent Van Gogh to his brother Theo, 25 September 1888
The beautifully lyrical writing of Van Gogh brings us to the next stage of the creative process. This is what creativity and innovation consultant, James Taylor, describes as the moment of insight:
“The third stage is what most of the public think is a classic signal or sign of a creative person, what is called the INSIGHT stage . . . it is really the idea of the ‘Aha’ moment, the ‘Eureka’ moment. Although it is probably the smallest part of the five steps, it is possibly one of the most important parts.”
The question then could be: Is there something I can do to experience insight?
For transcendentalist, Henry David Thoreau, it required living alone in the woods on the shores of Walden Pond:
“I learned this, at least, by my experiment; that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. He will put some things behind, will pass an invisible boundary; new, universal, and more liberal laws will begin to establish themselves around and within him; or the old laws be expanded, and interpreted in his favor in a more liberal sense, and he will live with the license of a higher order of beings.” from Walden
The moment of insight often comes during periods of solitude, in the early waking hours of the day, or while walking or running; but it can also happen during conversations in neighborhood cafés, and in cities where synergy is produced by artists gathering together to share ideas and studio space. In any environment that is well suited to our individuality, inspiration can suddenly appear giving birth to the creative act, if we are attentive to its voice.
As Erwin Raphael McManus explains, “The creative act is a manifestation of imagination. Everything that exists began as an idea; everything we define as reality began as nothing more than imagination. Reality exists because it was first imagined. In fact, everything we know about the invisible comes to us in the form of the visible.” from The Artisan Soul
I hope you experience a moment of insight this week, and bring forth something visible from the invisible that you can share with others, and enrich their lives through your creativity.