Creative life

Let the world in

Living a creative life has little to do with producing works of art or coming up with grand ideas. It starts much earlier — in how you look at the world, how you notice details and how you allow yourself to be affected by what surrounds you.

Children do this naturally. For them, creativity isn’t an accomplishment but a way of being: everything is an invitation, everything is worth exploring, everything is alive. We lose this not because we grow older, but because we stop letting the world in.

A creative life grows from the same simple attitude: paying attention, following your curiosity and giving space to what moves you. Notice when something catches your eye. Let it stay with you. Think about it, question it, play with it.

Read widely. Observe closely. Stay open.

Creativity doesn’t begin inside you — it begins in your contact with the world.

This page gathers reflections on creativity, perception and the everyday imagination.

  • A quiet seaside bench overlooking the ocean at dusk, with bare branches above and wooden steps leading down toward the water.
    You don’t understand, until you understand
    by Caspar Schjelbred
    A quiet reflection on the moment when understanding suddenly appears — and how it changes the way we see the world.
  • Julyen Hamilton leading the workshop ‘The Dancing Spirit in Voice, Word and Body’ in Paris, with Caspar Schjelbred and another participant in the background.
    Listen for the heart of things
    by Caspar Schjelbred
    When the world becomes too loud, we stop noticing what’s alive. A piece about returning to quiet attention — through movement, poetry and listening for what matters.
  • Jean-Louis Barrault reading in his library, evoking his idea that theatre is ‘training to live.’
    Theatre is training to live
    by Caspar Schjelbred
    A reflection on theatre as a practice of attention — learning to notice more, feel more, and stay awake to what the world shows you.
  • A pattern of overlapping animal footprints scattered across fresh, untouched snow.
    On leading a creative life
    by Caspar Schjelbred
    Thoughts on what it means to live creatively: paying attention, following your curiosity and letting everyday moments shape your imagination.
  • People walking and standing on a long moving walkway inside a brightly lit metro tunnel.
    To be one in a hundred
    by Caspar Schjelbred
    A short piece on individuality, presence and the quiet courage of seeing the world in your own way.