Charles Baudelaire described genius as "no more than childhood recaptured at will." Creativity is also something that you can recapture at will by getting in touch with your inner child. If it's been a long time since you invited your inner child out to play, you can reconnect with him or her by doing the following:
1. Color. Buy crayons and a coloring book--the big thick kind filled with all kinds of images that you loved as a child--and sit down for an afternoon of coloring. It's OK if you color outside the lines.
2. Play. Spend some time thinking about what you loved to play with as a child. Did you play jacks, draw with chalk on the sidewalk, build a fortress with Legos, or create "baked goods" with Play-Doh?
3. Go to the playground. Play hopscotch, jump rope, climb on the swings, and climb on the jungle gym.
4. Draw your goal. Grab some crayons, markers or colored pencils. Imagine a goal that you'd like to meet and draw a picture of what it will look like when you've reached this goal.
5. Go for a walk. Go on a nature walk and look at everything with wonder like a child would. Be curious and aware. Gather leaves, feathers, rocks, and flowers and take them home with you.
6. Make a cootie catcher. Did you forget how? Get advice from a third grader on how to proceed.
7. Read Dr. Seuss' books. Few things will help you reconnect with your inner child as much as sitting down and rhyming along with the magical Dr. Seuss.
While you're hanging from the monkey bars at your neighborhood park remember the following quote by Stephen Nachmanovitch : "The most potent muse of all is our own inner child."
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