creativity and time

As I sit between work and a very busy summer I find my mind turning over more ideas than I have seen there for awhile. Where have all these thoughts been lurking? evidently they needed time for me to sist still so they could catch up. Creativity is like that. not always very aggressive, it will not force itself when there are more pressing matters. One way anthropologists measure free time in ancient civilizations is by the art they produce. The theory being that a group of people who are in sheer survival mode and devoting all their energy to food production and staying warm will not produce art.

So time is a critical element in the process of creativity. As I look though the groups I belong to and the beading magazines, I get I am often disappointed by the step by step how to's for producing jewlery. Sure I could do that and end up with a nice pair of earrings or bracelet, but I would feel very unfulfilled, and self gratification is a big part of why I create.
My mother used to put together kits, embroidery, latchhook... But I found more satisisfaction in creating the kits. I designed many of the pieces she worked on. She was able to make substitutions in colors and rearrange some stitches to make something unique, sort of. She worked in a similar way with food. She loved to cook and loved readding through cookbooks to try something new at least 3 days a week. But she always insisted on making things by the recipe at least the first time. She would make notes on the recipe to add a touch more this, take out that and such until she was satisfied with it, then she would type it on a roledex file card and add it to the stash.
In our society everybody most likely has time to be creative. I do not know why so many people are afraid to let themselves be creative. Or they keep a tight leash on those impulses. On the other hand if everybody felt creative it would limit the market for those of us who are.