I realized that creativity is the domain of the "master" and discipline is the focus of the "student".
In dance, you spend many years as a student learning technique and performing the vision of the choreographer. The choreographer, the master, has spent their years learning technique as a student and are now at liberty to express their creativity to the masses through the dances they create.
In the culinary world, you spend many years as a student learning technique and executing the vision of the chef. The chef, the master, has spent their years of learning technique as a student and are now at liberty to express their creativity to the masses through the dishes they create and the restaurants they lead.
In the world of architecture, you spend many years as a student learning technique and executing the vision of the architect. The architect, the master, has spent their years of learning technique as a student and are now at liberty to express their creativity to the masses through the structures they design.
When I looked at all of these examples, I determined that discipline is knowing how something will turn out based on the techniques you have learned... how do you turn without falling over, how do you grill a steak without burning it, how to you build a house without it collapsing. And I determined that creativity is being surprised, taking an idea and just seeing where it goes, experimenting with no attachment to the outcome.
As a master you are free to experiment. You have earned that right.
As a student you are asked to learn perfect technique. It is your responsibility.
It makes sense but it seems so disheartening. I get that you really need to learn how to do things so they work before you can spend all of your time experimenting ... although I am sure there are some people out there who are perfectly happy to just twirl around to the music for hours, eat combinations of peanut butter, sardine and wheatgrass or build things with Legos that always tip over! But sacrificing your self-expression during your "student" years is just too sad!
So how do we keep the creativity going when we are still the student? I think the challenge is to be your own "master" during all of the years that you are a "student".
In dance, the student can be the master in their own space ... when they dance around their living room or on the dance floor with their friends. The technique they have learned and are learning gives them the tools to create with. They know how to leap and turn and point their toes and they can put that all together into something amazing of their own creation.
In cooking, the student can be the master in their own space ... when they play with flavors in their kitchen and cook meals for their family. The technique they have learned and are learning gives them the tools to create with. They know how to butcher and saute and season and they can put that all together into something amazing that expresses themselves.
In architecture, the student can be the master in their own space ... when they doodle on napkins and build tree houses with their kids. The technique they have learned and are learning gives them the tools to create with. They know how to draw and engineer and they can put that all together into something amazing that communicates their vision.
I think that that some people are so amazing at what they do because they never lose their creativity while they were a student. They spend long hours learning and then still have the passion and determination to be their own master at night and on the weekends and every moment in between. They have so much love for what they do that they can't help but find the energy to be both student and master. And by the time they rise to the master level, they have been nurturing their creativity for so long that it just bursts forth now that it has a wider audience.
I think that most of us get so stuck in our role as student that by the time we rise to master we have to relearn to be creative. And some of us never do. And what a sad existence that is.
With this realization comes my determination to let my children be their own masters. I will allow them time and materials to execute their own visions with no attachment to the outcome. I will let them dance around the living room for hours without correcting their form. I will let them cook things in the kitchen even if that means ordering pizza for dinner. I will let them draw without the rules of perspective. I will let them fill journals with half written stories. I will give them containers of leftover materials and let them build. I will give them scraps of fabric and a needle and let them sew. I will let them blow into their clarinet with no sheet music. I will let them be the "master" for all these years that they will also be the "student".