The Art of Balancing the Creative Mind with Daily Life

January 19, 2025

Warm greetings, 

Is there anything less subtle than an 11-year-old armed with the rules - especially when confronted with a peer who prefers to get creative with them? After working with thousands of young people, I’ve noticed a pattern. That pattern boils down to one bold, heavy line dividing perceived right from perceived wrong with each being the ultimate moral authority. Spend just one recess supervising Gaga ball, and you’ll see exactly what I mean.

Personally, I’ve always liked the idea of that sharp dividing line - with me deciding what situations, and even people, belong on each side. But bumping into that line more than a few times over the years has managed to blur, soften, and sometimes erase that line altogether. 

Shoshin, or the beginner’s mind, is a Zen Buddhist concept that embodies openness, curiosity, and a willingness to learn without preconceptions or assumptions. It’s a beautiful ideal. Yoga echoes this wisdom, encouraging us to create space, expand our life containers, and never close the door on growth. Even Jesus spoke of the importance of new wine being poured into new wineskins, to accommodate the fermentation of fresh ideas and possibilities. Old, ridged wineskins would burst with new wine. The message is clear: new ideas need fresh operating systems to flourish. In with the new - creative, open, and spacious way of thinking - and out with the old, stagnant, rigid patterns. 

I appreciate the idea of a beginner's mind, of never closing the door on growth, and making space for new, creative approaches. Yet, here I am, staring at a pile of laundry, an unsigned field trip permission slip, and a refrigerator barren of ingredients for dinner, wondering what happened to my aspiration for a shoshin mindset. Can I even write lesson plans, respond to emails, or manage recess duty without the structure of an aged, bounded, old wineskin mind? 

Perhaps the answer lies not in erasing the heavy line, but in reimagining it. Can the beginner’s mind coexist with the mundane? Can old habits like separating darks and lights, sharing traditions with children, and cherishing aged wisdom dance hand-in-hand with the creativity, openness, and fresh possibilities of a new way of being? Maybe new wine in new wine skins and old wine in old wine skins is a way of preserving both. After all, I do enjoy a glass of old wine.

The beauty of a beginner’s mind isn’t in abandoning the old traditions, but in weaving the two together with mindful discernment. Maybe the line isn’t so heavy after all - maybe it’s more like a bridge, connecting the wisdom of the past with the creative possibilities of the future.

Best,

Kelley