Should There Be Boundaries On Creativity?

I’m a writer. Writer’s tend to be overly creative people. We have overactive imaginations. We think differently than others. We see the world from a different perspective. We hate math.

Did you just shutter at the graphic? Did your eyes glaze over? Did you automatically say “24” after the first line because the multiplication tables were drilled into your head in the 5th grade? Well, you might be a creative person.

It’s no surprise. A lot of folks are creative. For instance, musicians, actors, artists, all rely heavily on the right sides of their brain. It’s the left-brainers you have to worry about. But sometimes I have to wonder, should we limit the extent of our creativity? I know that goes against the whole premise of this blog (“Where imagination abounds, nothing is impossible”), but hear me out. Consider these wacky inventions, then I’ll ask the question again:

What is the purpose of this? So a blind person knows where to hold the glass?

 Pizza cutters not trendy any longer; we now need scissors? And who even eats a slice of pizza this small?

 Here’s the answer to sweaty palms. (Jenny Hansen at More Cowbell has probably known about these for years.)

 Wanna see who’s following you, but don’t want to turn around?

 All the tables at your favorite restaurant full? No worries, just sit yourself down and order up. (I’d avoid the soup.)

 I call this one – the Nap Lap.

 Tired of messing up your whole face with that damned lipstick? Here’s the answer you’ve been looking for.

And my personal favorite:

Are you a busy mom but worry about setting your baby down on the dirty ground in order to get those dreaded chores done? Well, here’s the product for you.

I’ve got to admit, that last one is genius. (Does that make me a bad person?) But seriously, how can anybody holding a baby properly wash their hands after using the restroom? I’m sure this invention was created by a man; I’m just sure of it.

And so folks, after seeing just a minuscule display of the wacky stuff that people “create,” do you want to change your answer? Should creativity have limits? Or do you agree with me, that maybe we should just put a boundary restriction on inventors. Yeah, that’s it.

What’s the craziest invention you’ve come across? Have you ever purchased something “clever” to make your life easier? Do you want any of the above items for yourself? Hey, I won’t judge.

Word of the Day: Guipure

Fun fact about me:  I love starfruit.

Original post by Jansen Schmidt, April 2015. Photos courtesy Google Images.

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When Smart Mouth Meets Paddle Stick It Knocks the Genius Right Out of You.

Photo courtesy Google Images

I remember as a youngster, the first time I sassed my mother and she told me to watch my smart mouth. In my – very reasonable – tiny little mind, I took that comment literally and believed that my mother found me to be exceptionally bright. After all, she didn’t tell me to watch my dumb mouth, so I must be brilliant. Right?

Taking this “compliment” to heart, I proceeded to hone my smart mouth skills, using them every chance I could get. I repeatedly got the warning and each time my chest swelled with pride. I was getting smarter and smarter. Maybe I could skip kindergarten altogether and go straight to first grade.

Um – no.

Photo courtesy Google Images

It wasn’t until one day my mother met with with the “paddle stick” in hand – yes that was the shiny slab of wood that my mother used to paddle the butts of rebellious children – that I realized, obviously too late, that having a smart mouth was in fact not such a good thing. Not a compliment at all, but rather something that might earn me a good whooping, as was the case on that particular day.

You see, my mother had had just about enough of my “genius” that afternoon and decided it was time to teach me, once and for all, that I should mind my mother.

“You can’t spank me,” I cried. “I’m a genius.”

Photo courtesy Google Images

After a couple of wallops on my sitting parts, my mother took mercy on me. “A smart mouth,” my mother patiently explained, “is a little girl who sasses and back-talks her mother.”

Say what? That would have been nice to know before now. (I’m guessing a true genius would have figured that out and spared themselves the spanking.)

“From now on,” my mother continues as though my unspoken words meant nothing to her, “when I tell you to watch your smart mouth, I suggest you think very carefully about how you say things after that.”

“Ooooo . . . k . . . k . . . k . . . aaaaaaay.”

And so there you have it. That’s the day I got the genius knocked right out of me and sealed my fate; I would in fact not skip kindergarten.

Lesson learned? Having a smart mouth does not make you a genius.

Do I still have a smart mouth? Oh, absolutely. I’m just very careful how and when I use it.

Photo courtesy Google Images

How about you – are you a “genius?” Did you ever get in trouble for having a smart mouth? Did you get spankings? If so, did you learn your lesson? I know I sure did.

Fun fact about me: You guessed it – I’m a smart mouth – I mean genius.

Word of the Day:  Umiak

Original post by Jansen Schmidt, January 2015. Photos courtesy Google Images.

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