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by Douglas Eby
Age and maturity can bring a new level of passion, ability and
insight for creative expression. Although
some areas that depend on
physical performance, or accumulating and processing vast amounts of
information, may become less easy or available, many creative
endeavors flourish with increasingly varied life experience and the
kind of vitality adult development can nurture.
There are many examples of people making significant creative
projects in middle age and beyond. Despite losing a leg (in her
early 70s), Sarah Bernhardt continued acting until age 78. Martha
Graham danced until age 75. Sidney Sheldon, in his late eighties,
still writes best-selling novels. Edward Albee,75, won a Tony award
for a new play in 2002. At 97, architect Oscar Niemeyer is
developing one of his most ambitious projects.
Many actresses face a loss of opportunity due to ageism, but a
number continue to create rich and appreciated characters. Tyne
Daly, in her late fifties, has commented about her acting in the TV
series "Judging Amy" and elsewhere, and the value of
maturity: "I feel less obliged to protect any made-up version
of myself. I've kind of moved on from caring very much about other
peoples' judgments of me."
Candice Bergen, 59, acclaimed for her acting in the TV series
"Boston Legal," has commented that people "sometimes
get crazier as they get older" and that she can "just be
weird whenever I want."
One of the keys to experiencing maturity in positive ways is in
how we think about getting older. The word "aging' often refers
to the darker aspects, but aging can also be the natural process of
adult development in which we grow fuller and more dynamic.
Faith Ringgold, a painter, sculptor and writer, now in her 70s,
thinks her age is a definite advantage: "I am in my mature
phase now, at the top of my game. Every day and every way I'm
getting better."
Novelist and poet Maxine Hong Kingston once declared, "At
mid-age I have an energy I never had before. I am much more
effective in the world than when I was young."
Researcher Howard Gruber, co-author with Doris Wallace of the
book Creative People at Work, writes that their studies show
creative work takes a long time: "It is not a matter of
milliseconds, minutes, or even hours -- but of months, years, and
decades."
Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi has studied hundreds of
creative people over the course of many decades [books include
"Creativity : Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and
Invention"], and concludes "these individuals' curiosity
and interest is still childlike... an almost childish curiosity is
typical of creative adults."
Children also have an ability to create without censoring
themselves; their uncritical exuberance is a mindset that we often
stifle as adults, in order to produce "meaningful" and
"excellent" work.
In his chapter "Becoming an Imperfectionist" in the
book "Inspiring Creativity," Edward B. Kurpis notes his
six year old niece Gabrielle was a "veritable artwork
factory" and each day "happily produced scores of new
drawings that pushed the bounds of creativity... She did not really
care if you liked her work or not; her personal goal was to create
the art and get it out into the world to be seen... Her art, in her
own mind, was always perfect, the ideal expression of herself.
"Many would-be artists who strive to create meaningful
stories, pictures or music are not always able to approach their
creative work with the same sense of fearlessness and abandon,"
Kurpis notes.
Being creative throughout our mature second halves of life can be
nurtured by staying open and curious, seeking ways to reconnect with
interests we may have had as children, but abandoned in favor of the
mundane necessities of making a living. And modulating our needs to
be perfect.
Not that it is always easy, but new interests can be developed
and pursued at almost any age. Just because we haven't done
something creative before, does not mean when we are older we can't
do it, and find great pleasure in the doing.
Sophia Loren has an inspiring perspective on maturity:
"There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents,
the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of the people
you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will have truly
defeated age."
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