by : T. Fennel Crenshaw

Much to my delight, my 3 ˝ year old son Tommy, has taken up singing… everything. From the moment his feet hit the floor in the morning he makes known all his wants, feelings, and desires through song. He sings out what he wants for breakfast with all the earnest of a little choirboy imitating Pavarotti.

His favorite arias are songs from "The Phantom Of The Opera," having heard it being played so much at home. But I am constantly amazed when out of the blue, he makes up his own songs, sometimes in some foreign language adults aren't suppose to understand, about his world and all he sees around him. He's a chip off the old block all-right, his father's boy, with a gift for music and relating to his world through song.

It makes me think about how children are free to associate and create in such imaginative and innocent ways. Ways in which we adults have abandoned or surrendered either through society's demands to conform to certain rules, or through that slow fade away that happens when as least suspect- even though we swore to never part with our creative innocence and sense of wonder about the world around. How sad it is that becoming an adult means leaving these things behind.

"Except you become as little children"

Many books have been written about how to nurture creativity by re-discovering the child inside each of us. Some authors feel we never grow up, just older (I see examples of this syndrome everywhere I look.) While others point the way to capturing childlike creative abilities through rebirthing experiences or "primal scream therapy." Not discounting these authors ideas in any way, but stop, and think for a moment here. The easiest way to become that child again, in pursuit of creative genesis, is to simply act like a child again. Not by throwing temper tantrums, whining, and sucking one's thumb, but rather open up the eyes again so as to truly see life as a wonder, a brilliant kaleidoscope of possibilities.

The whole of Christianity is based on thinking like a child again, in fact, becoming as a little child, through faith, hope, and dependence. Are not we, as writers, artists, and crafters of words and music ones who hold fast to faith, hope and dependence also, as vital tools to our survival if not our very sanity?

Faith:
That we have inside, one more song to be written. One more poem or story to tell. Maybe the one that says it all just the right way this time- faith that our inspiration will always sustain us, and never run dry.

Hope:
That what we have written will be accepted. Maybe change someone's life for the better, if only for a moment or two, and perhaps forever.

Dependence:
Relying on this creative power to heal us, continuously, and dependant on our bond with others who share our passions.

Here are some ideas that will help get you started on the path to utilizing your child-like creative abilities that are merely hidden below the surface of adulthood.

Write what is on your mind. Children hold little back. They spare no feelings in telling you how things are. Use this incredibly simple tool to unleash a new, bold voice that is trapped inside. You may come up with some shocking revelations, some startling conclusions. You may discover that allowing yourself to be candid (with yourself and with others) opens up a new doorway to possibilities that never existed before. Be careful with this powerful tool, honesty can be brutal.

Associate freely ideas that aren't compatible… Mix oil & water. Remember that there are no rules in songwriting, except those you allow yourself to adhere to. A child's mind is free to make up wonderful stories simply because there is no "filter" or rules to stop the impossible from combining with the imaginable.

Dream. In your creative mind, much like a child's mind, you can be and do anything. Let it happen and capture it in words and song.

Create Spontaneously. Ask a child to delve into their imagination for a story, song, or idea, and they respond in an instant. There is no right or wrong when asking the imagination to step-up. Ask your imagination for the ideas, expect them, and begin immediately creating when they come.

Let faith, hope, and dependence nurture you, and in turn, nurture it as well. Believe. In yourself, your abilities, and your scared-ness as a vessel for creation- a divinely flawed conduit for eternal truths. Believe in others you love and respect. In their sacredness, even if their ideas don't match yours.

Take these ideas, explore some of your own, and begin to think like a child again. Meditate on childhood memories, especially your earliest, and remember what is was like to be so free. Growing older should be an adventure of the heart, a maturing of the soul, and a purifying of the spirit. If you can learn to re-discover the child inside, a magical element will warm you through and through on even the most gray and rainy of days. You will have learned that wherever you go, you carry the sunshine inside your heart.

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