Do we overcomplicate creativity?

At the beginning of July our dearly loved, though near dinosaur status, cooktop decided to (mostly) stop working.  For a few weeks, we were able use two burners at once, as long as the two burners weren’t on the same side of the cooktop lol.  But by the middle of July, one burner (yes, of course the back left burner) was the only burner left standing.  A week or so later at the end of July our dearly loved, though actual dinosaur status, miniature wall oven also decided to stop working.  

Now, if you know me, you know I am a bit of a tornado in the kitchen.  And I’m always using every burner on the cooktop and all the racks in the oven when prepping a meal.  So, having only one burner at my disposal, well, it’s possible I was a bit grumpy.  And then when the oven made her move…you would not be wrong if you pictured me stomping right on over to my local appliance store to find replacements asap.   

Well, it took over four months to get the order fulfilled.  We hung in there through backorder after backorder.  But last week, our new appliances were installed.  This in and of itself is was exciting…but the lesson I learned in the four months of waiting…well it was equally, if not more, stirring. 

Here’s the thing.  Life can feel a little like cooking in the kitchen with one burner.  Especially when said person is attached to their cooking experience looking a certain way.  I would be lying if I said I was not previously attached to my kitchen having, you know, fully functioning appliances.  But, as the weeks passed, the simplicity of the single burner grew on me.  And I noticed something interesting…my creativity in the kitchen surged.  So much so, that now, even with the full suite of kitchen appliances, I am voluntarily cooking with one burner!

Maybe, just maybe, creativity thrives in simplicity…when given the space, it can be de-meshed from expectations.