Hi! Welcome to the 4 CreativeWheels newsletter — your weekly dose of insights on creativity and fuel for your creative journey.

Week #42, it is! 8 weeks to go before the 50th milestone. In the meantime, as always, each step is blissful. And your presence is appreciated. Talking about appreciation, let’s appreciate curiosity.

In this week’s issue, we explore why we should take pleasure in curiosity and nuance.

“The popular image when we think of curiosity and the tiniest details is one of a child. The child is probably outside holding a magnifying glass. This image encourages the idea that curiosity belongs to children. Though children are arguably the most curious creatures, this view normalizes adults who lack curiosity.“

Without further ado…

Let’s start the ride!

Some infinities ago, I had a conversation with a lovely lady. After reading my work, she asked a few simple questions.

In her inquiry, she wrote, “From what I saw on your website, you seem to have deep perspectives into things. How do you come up with your topics? Are they from your everyday experiences, or is your mind a library on its own ?”

The full answers are long ones. However, the short answer is an unquenched curiosity. And unknowingly, she sparked in me a newfound appreciation for curiosity and nuance.

The popular image when we think of curiosity and the tiniest details is one of a child. The child is probably outside holding a magnifying glass. This image encourages the idea that curiosity belongs to children. Though children are arguably the most curious creatures, this view normalizes adults who lack curiosity.

The overall feel of that image is passive. It makes it seem like deep observation leads to nothing but wonder. Thus, it’s a waste of time. Yet, deep observation is active engagement. The eyes are just a portal to a grand rushing wave of thoughts and questions.

Last but not least, there are also negative connotations to intentional observation. One of them is that such observation engenders judgments or overthinking. Hence, many people avoid it. Another misconception is how such an ability is inborn to some. You either have it or you don’t. The last myth among many is how curiosity about the little things entails the pursuit of perfection. And that is wrong. Sometimes it does, but not always.

The truth is, curiosity has always been crucial. Throughout history, it has been a common and shared element of the greats. From the Wright brothers, Albert Einstein, Faith Kipyegon, Brad Bird, Novak Djokovic, Hayao Miyazaki, Steve Jobs, to Ana Gavalda, curiosity and details played a part in their journeys. And that is no surprise.

Horatio Clare would affirm so. A few days ago, as I was “productively” procrastinating, I stumbled upon a clip of him talking about Ana Gavalda. He was narrating moments he had with her. After he recounted how attentive Ana is, Horatio described her ability as, “A penetrating facility for keeping on looking before judging. An incredible, almost combative curiosity.” These words almost perfectly evoke what the process of curiosity and indulgence in nuances is.

His statement reinvigorated my reflections on curiosity. There are many things I can say about how I write, come up with topics and ideas, where I find them, and so on. But one thing that comes up again and again is my use of curiosity. I am curious. And I love being curious. Curiosity guides me to whatever I will eventually delve into. When I dive into something guided by curiosity, I come out with a wealth of thoughts. And I get one step closer to being more creative.

Curiosity and details are x-factors for creativity. Now, how does that work? The process starts with fostering a strong desire to learn boundlessly. When you want to learn boundlessly, you liberate yourself from assumptions. You learn to value clarity.

You would slow down the activity or procedure. Contrary to popular belief, this slowing down is not about the pace at which you observe. The slowing down is about the speed at which you start deducing. Precision and clarity often hide in the seconds we rush past. And this nurtures more concentration.

You note small deviations. When something seems “off,” you pause to understand the reason. This trains your eye for subtle inconsistencies. You spend longer moments on a singular detail. And as you’re in the process, you strive to describe what you observe but not interpret or explain it. The more you engage, the more questions come. And after asking one question, you follow with, “What’s behind that?”

As Edward de Bono once stated, “There is no doubt that creativity is the most important human resource of all. Without creativity, there would be no progress, and we would be forever repeating the same patterns.” That is true. One thing remains. You first have to notice the patterns before altering them. And curiosity is the way to notice them thoroughly. It’s a treasure we all possess.

To indulge in your curiosity and delight in nuance makes you more reflective and enriches your life. And that is the reason to do so. When you are more reflective, you garner more information about reality. As you do so, you gain a deeper comprehension of the world.

The more you do it, the more you will develop a skill for pattern recognition. The growth of that skill will lead you to detect the spots where connections can be made. You can connect the unconnectable.

Moreover, this allows you to enrich your life for free. Anytime and anywhere. Unfortunately, many of us look down upon the pleasure in little things. Sometimes, we do it consciously and sometimes subconsciously. Yes, we love saying it out loud, “Appreciate the little things,” “Life is about the tiny details.” Yet, in practice, we feel that it lowers our standards for joy and pleasure.

So, we often exploit the little details as routes to escapism. Somehow, we associated appreciating the little things with needing to find excitement and pleasure in them because we lack those elements in places we prefer. And that’s what hinders many from truly cherishing the nuances.

They don’t see pleasure in observation itself. They observe only in the hope of finding pleasure. This beats the purpose and is detrimental. The process is the bliss and objective. That is the sincere manner of approaching it. It is about finding pleasure in the process of observation.

When you do so, the goal is no longer, “Let me enjoy the beauty of the sunset.” It becomes, “Let me admire and notice the details that make this sunset, this sunset.” This shift propels you to ponder better. Questions arise as you stare. You start recognizing what the sunset encapsulates. You realize new things about it. Your thoughts may even wander and attach what you found to something that bears the same tone.

As you reflect, literally, you feed your mind with information that it may store. Those pieces of information would lead to other great or useful insights. And this process wipes the blur that comes from passive looking. Then, you find the beauty in the sunset in the clearest state. This is how wonderful curiosity and nuances can be.

To give your curiosity care and time transforms your mind into a microscope. Your mind uncovers the depth of your target. And whatever you have been observing with intense intent reveals its core essence.

With the essence revealed, you can detect another thing sharing that essence. New possibilities form. As they share the same essence, what if one detail from here could fit there? What if the way to clear the clutter here can also apply there? And you realize that you have become more creative.

Of course, this is not limited to the beautiful things. It can be used for the ugly details as well. Life is full of ugly things. However, the great gift about indulging in the tiniest subtleties is that you gain an understanding of the ugliness. As you observe, you notice why this could lead to that. You grasp how one thing creates a chain of outcomes. You don’t stop at perceiving the negativity. You discern the composition of the object, situation, or event.

Moreover, you may dig up a realization that can solve a problem you’ve encountered. As Edward de Bono once said, “We need creativity in order to break free from the temporary structures that have been set up by a particular sequence of experience.” The process of intentional observation leads you to identify those structures. And this eases the leap to creating a solution or a step toward a solution. In doing so, you leave the world a better place than you found it. This also enriches your life.

Life mingles the good and the bad. Your curiosity will not discriminate. And you shouldn’t let it do so. Naturally, one has to guard and protect their well-being and mental health. Still, curiosity about the details places you in a greater state to make the best out of the present. And that’s the point.

Curiosity and nuances help you embrace what is. Your mind gets so occupied that you only engage with the present. Who you were at your first glance will not be who you become after the last gaze. And that is so worth it.

After all, life is a finite bag of nows. The greatest thing you could do is to better cherish each now. And it starts with this one. Because now will always be the best now.

Here are two (or more) creative works that you’ll not regret checking out:

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Thank you so much for reading! 

As always, feel free to reply to this email & share your thoughts, stories, and any experience related to this topic. I’d love to hear them!  

C ya next Week! 

Embracing Creativity™,

Richard M.

Want to work with me? Contact me here