All your life you've have been told to grow up, act your age, show some maturity - all code words for Behave Like a Responsible Adult. Often that also meant "Don't waste time on silly things; you have Important Grown-Up Things to do."
Well, guess what? You've done all the Important Grown-Up Things, and maybe, just maybe, it's time to (as a writer friend of mine says) "Release your inner two-year-old."
Now I will admit there are limits to what we can indulge. For instance, my sister's two-year-old self had a strong aversion to clothing. Even in the winter in Oregon, when there was snow on the ground. She might not have been old enough to dress herself, but reversing that process was her superpower. The neighbors, however, didn't see it that way. I think they'd still feel the same way today.
This isn't the place to throw off your clothes and run wild. Even though my sister seemed to think so when she was two!
So what do I mean when I quote my friend? I mean stop putting limits on how you view the world. Take my granddaughter. Several years ago, when she barely out of the high chair, we went to dinner with her and her parents. Keeping a restless toddler from creating disruption was a challenge, and cell phones were too new and expensive to let a little one play with them, but that didn't stop her. She picked up a ketchup bottle from the table, held it to her ear, and "called" someone. My son thought quickly, grabbed another ketchup bottle and answered the call. To this day I treasure that picture. Sure, she didn't have a real phone, and none of the rest of us saw that bottle as a potential phone, but she didn't limit herself; she didn't resist her creativity.
You know that thing about what happens in Vegas? Well, when it involves a conversation at the dinner table in a public restaurant between Dad and his four-year-old via the ketchup phone, that rule does not apply.
Growing up is a series of lessons in stifling yourself (shades of Archie Bunker). You learn to bite your tongue, to keep your inner thoughts buried, to dress appropriately (ever see a 2-year-old in an outfit they put together themselves?), not run in the house.
You become socialized, which is a good thing, but that socialization can come at the expense of burying that wildly creative two-year-old. It is a necessary skill in order to live in our society, but as creatives we need to allow that crazy, inventive, no-limits child to come out and play.
What better time than in retirement, when you have more freedom, less need to fit in, and the luxury of time to spend on your own doing what you love? Without the constraint of a day job, without the constant need to fit into the pattern of a Grown-Up, you can indulge that inner two-year-old.
Here's an experiment for you. The next time you're out in public, take the time to watch the people around you. Honestly, for many creative people this is a normal activity. Other people are an endless source of inspiration; I am constantly writing stories in my head about the people I see around me, and I am sure other creative people are keen observers of the world around them.
But this time look for something specific. Look for a small child who is learning their world. Look for the wonder and imagination and sheer unbridled joy they take in their surroundings. Yes, they're loud, they're messy, and quite possibly they are undisciplined. They feel free to express themselves without limits, which is something we need to relearn.
That joy, that limitless expression is what we all need to cultivate our creativity. It's something that every creative person needs every day, but often we have to hide that part of us. We have to tuck it away in a corner, make it behave properly, so that we can continue to do our jobs and interact with a society that demands a certain level of decorum.
This is not to say that we can indulge in tantrums in public, that we can interfere with other people's lives and livelihoods, or become rude and selfish and entitled in all our interactions. We still need to be considerate to those around us. You know, that whole Golden Rule thing.
Still, embrace that inner two-year-old. Let it show you the world in a new light, a light you hid under a pile of musts, and shoulds, and ought tos.
Give yourself permission to indulge your creativity, your curiosity, your newfound freedom to explore the world with the open inquisitiveness of a small child. Give yourself the gift of a second childhood, one that you can use to feed your creative spark.
As much as possible throw off the limitations that have been placed on you all your life.
Just remember to keep your clothes on.