Common Sense Home Good News Letter 2/18/24
“Where’s your creative spark, your genius, the thing that you do that excites you and gets your mind tuned in? Do more of that.”
Have you ever heard of George Land’s study of the nature of creative genius? In the late 1960s, Land was commissioned by NASA to study creativity, looking for innovative minds.
Their study group consisted of 1600 children, ages 3 to 5. The initial testing yielded surprising results. 98% of the children were labeled as creative geniuses.
Unfortunately, those results did not last. As the children progressed through school, that creative spark dimmed. Only 30% of them still tested as creative geniuses at age 10, and only 12% at age 15. By adulthood, only 2% retained that high level of ability to think creatively.
The standard educational values conformity over creativity, and it shows.
What if we could recapture some of that creative spark? Can you think back to the things that used to capture your imagination? (Maybe they still do?)
Can you view the challenges in your life from a different perspective? Strike up conversations with different people? Spend more time in nature, or listening to music you enjoy?
So often we get caught up in our routines of things we “have” to get done, but even small breaks can bring new perspectives and opportunities. Give yourself permission to mix things up a little and see if you can get some of that spark back. This world needs more creative solutions.
All our best to you and yours,
Laurie (and August IV, August V, and Duncan)
This week’s featured articles…
I have a little bit of spring fever this week, and ended up working on a round up of asparagus articles. From refrigerator storage to freezing, pickling, dehydrating, and freeze drying, we have you covered for when asparagus season kicks in.
It’s always interesting to me how different foods can taste when cooked or preserved in different ways. Even though you may end up eating quite a bit of a particular food, it doesn’t get tiring if you mix up how you prep it. That’s an aspect of resilient living that I think a lot of people don’t consider.
Maybe you’ve seen the ads for The Lost Ways book and wondered if it was any good. I bought a copy to have a look and shared my review here.
The cats are going to be very disappointed, but their fuzzy backsides will no longer be allowed on the seed starting shelves soon. Onions, herbs, and flowers are first up for indoor seed starting, but no gardening season would be complete without homegrown tomatoes. I share tips for growing healthy, vigorous tomato transplants here.
Watch your inbox this week for the Follow Your Path collaboration!
Popular on social media – the duck patrol has pond access again, even though it’s icy, and do you ever feel like you’re being watched?