Tools for Creativity

Innovation is sustainable creativity which is another way of saying creative fidelity.  Consider Jesus.  He was an innovator within the Judaic religious tradition.  He identified that discontent of God's people and gave it a voice.  He had the courage to act upon the discontent of God's people.  He was faithful to the Law of Moses and he was willing to consider needed reforms in how the Law was practiced. 

Similarly, consider Saul of Tarsus.  He too was an innovator in the early church.  He was the one most responsible for spreading Christianity throughout the Roman world.  Without St. Paul Christianity may have remained a sect of Judaism for generations.  Thomas of Aquino or St. Thomas Aquinas was also an innovator.  He was faithful to the foundations of Catholicism and he was willing to be creative in its expression and application in new circumstances. 

Our Lord Jesus, St. Paul and St. Thomas were among many who were persecuted until their deaths because they were willing to be innovators.  The Church continues to be called to exercise creative-fidelity.  The parishes that will thrive in the years ahead will do so through a balance of fidelity and innovation.  Innovation happens best in a reflective and responsive mind.  This is the way Jesus did it.  Consider these quotes and tools:

Top Ten Quotes on Creativity

_#10.  All acceptable practices were once radical notions.  Creativity is merely our discontent with existing practice, when acted upon.
                                                                                                                                                                                - Dennis Mahaney

#9.  "Everyone is a genius.  But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid."
                                                                                                                                                                                - Albert Einstein

#8.  "Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep." - Scott Adams

#7.  "To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong." - Joseph Chilton Pierce

#6.  "You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have." - Maya Angelou

#5.  "By believing passionately in something that still does not exist, we create it. The non-existent is whatever we have not sufficiently desired." - Nikos Kazantzakis

#4.  "A truly creative person rids him or herself of all self-imposed limitations." - Gerald Jampolsky

#3.  "Things are only impossible until they're not." - Jean-Luc Picard

#2.  "It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see." - Henry David Thoreau

#1.  Your response...

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Tools for Creativity and Innovation

Heath Brothers at Fast Company

American Creativity Association

The Idea Champions

Online College Degrees Online Games to Foster Creativity

Khan Academy - Brain Teasers

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