CREATIVITY - A SENSORY EXPERIENCE BY KARISSA WATERWORTH

We all have our different perceptions of the world, and all of our perceptions are our own versions of reality.

I have synesthesia, which means that some of my senses are connected.  For some people with synesthesia, sound evokes color.  Some people might taste chocolate in response to the word “slide”, and for others, the number “9” has a personality. 

For me, the number “5” has a color, and Tuesday has both a color and a location in space.  I see all of my letters and numbers in distinct colors, and I see everything from hours, days, weeks, months, years, and numbers in particular locations in space.  Perhaps most importantly, I think in shapes and color. 

When I’m ideating, it feels like I’m at a concert with colored dye flying everywhere in my mind’s eye, casting itself upon and uncovering the hidden textures of ideas within my mind.  The visualizations are so clear, vivid, and exciting.  This is my reality, my perception, and my inspiration.  It’s the source of so many of my ideas, and it helps me to see connections that I would otherwise miss.

Creativity is all about making connections, taking the building blocks of what exists and constructing something out of it, like legos.  Synesthesia is one of the ways I connect ideas together.

Everything I hear and everything I see is a potential orchestra of new and colorful ideas.  Inspiration is everywhere we look; we just have to open our minds to see this potential, to connect the dots between things that we wouldn’t otherwise consider to be connected.

All of our perceptions help us to make connections.  This is how mine helps me.  How does your perception help you make connections?