Creativity

"Everyone is at his or her best when cultivating various forms of creative expression and finding ways to give them an outlet," Gregory Toole.

Creativity is an important aspect of being fully human. There are many ways to be creative. For me, those ways include writing, cooking, communicating, relating, painting, and conducting psychological evaluations. This might seem like an odd combination of activities, but they all have similar qualities. They all involve active engagement, full participation, seeing all the options, and seeing the mystery. Being creative is essential to life. Some people do needlework, or woodworking, hunting, performing. Being creative is important in dementia caregiving too. While addressing this task of caregiving, my intention is to be as creative as possible, to consider all the options for both of us, to make our living space welcoming and lovely, to surround us with beauty and harmony, to have fun, to move our bodies in health, and to stimulate our minds. The aspects of these activities changes, as do the stages of dementia, but the essential thing is to have the goal: To be creative within our role as dementia caregiver.