On my first solo trip as a wide-eyed nine-year-old, I visited cousins in South Carolina. There, I fell in love with Melrose Plantation, a beautiful low-country resort full of trees dripping Spanish moss, sparkling sunsets, and pristine white cottages.

When I returned to my landlocked home in Nashville, I immediately dashed to my room, where my imagination ran wild. Hours later, my parents came to check on me. I had craft paper spread wall to wall, mapping out my own island hotel, quaint cottages, sparkling water, and lots of lush trees dripping with Spanish moss.

I have pulled the golden thread of creativity throughout my life to keep it strong and vibrant. There have been countless times when I’ve closed my eyes and mustered inspiration from that early playroom session.

My maternal grandmother, Mimi, taught me about creativity. She provided stacks of construction paper and drawers full of crayons for my visits. She nurtured my imagination by allowing me my own agenda. I was allowed to play in her closets, draping myself in pretty dresses, silk robes, scarves costume jewellery and to freely wander and explore her gardens and pasture for inspiration. She gave me time to doodle and play, but she also gave me little jobs to do, such as sending me to check the garden and gather garden blooms. She gave me the chance to work along side her as she arranged flowers.

Nurturing creativity in yourself and your children can become as natural as breathing once you grasp the golden thread of creativity and begin pulling it through daily life.  Redraw a routine: Set a morning alarm to play music that awakens your expressive side. Fill your personal spaces with items that inspire you.

You can begin to nurture creativity in children by pointing out the beauty of nature—such as spotting a beautiful butterfly and asking your child to give it a name and make up a story about where it will fly that day.

You are creative. You really are. Exercise your creativity. Grasp the frayed edge of that golden thread and begin pulling it through your life in simple ways. Before long, creativity will become as natural as breathing.

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