Boundaries and limitations are anathema to creative souls, who reflexively seek new horizons.
A comfort zone is cosy, and tension-free. It allows no experimentation or innovation nor permits taking the road less travelled. The inmates of comfort zone shall take minimal or no risk. No scope for venting out core issues. Fear is reflexive to them.
You need space to explore life: Man is not destined to live under constraints. Divine powers want humans to live freely, in abundance. And explore the mechanisms underlying manifestations of Nature, flora & fauna, or have inkling of the multiple layers of human psyche of which man is but a bundle. Man has been likened to a jungle fraught with mysteries, and his publicly known image as a garden where you have idea of each plant.
Man could discover possibilities in Mars or beyond only after quitting his habitat, rising above the temporal and venturing to supernal regions; this is hallmark of genius. Old key shall not open new lock, the existing facilities cannot help resolve the emergent. Further, in the process of confronting present complexities the mind calls in inherent skills, tact, and knowhow so far lying dormant. In the process, he comes out as superior person.
Crossing the frontiers: Behind landmark innovations have been the persons who crossed the frontiers. A bird bound in the cage cannot spread its wings. An inhibiting mindset is anathema to a free soul. The ‘safety first’ tag impinges on the free play of verve and creativity. Staying embedded in the self-same territory disables one from partaking of the myriad beauties Nature has to offer – exhilarating landscapes, mesmerising sunrise & sunset, the rustling of the trees, the unheard melodies, the tweeting of birds, et al. The box thinker has no idea about the customs, folkways, and stories that kept generations kicking. Normative boundaries irk the creative folks determined to explore the unknown frontiers.
Undeterred by the boycotting of sorts by the society for leaving others aside and perils at every stage, they keep heading towards the edge and beyond, relishing a broad, clearer and fulfilling view. Norms, rules, precepts, and guidelines in all realms serve as a rule of thumb for the mediocre mindsets who can see reality only in terms of do or don’t, black or white; they are rendered clueless when faced with a plethora of shades in-between.
It never occurs to them that with a critical patient on the operation table, the well-meaning surgeons may have divergent opinions. Knowing that all guidelines of all descriptions are at best advisories with a postscript that necessary changes can always be made, the seeker with a mission shall bypass the rule without compunction if it is perceived as an encumbrance to the voice of conscience.
Donkey’s movement in hills: Apropos of a fully loaded donkey in the hills traversing a narrow pathway. Rather than the safer rocky side, it reflexively moves along the precarious cliff side. We do not know why it is attracted to the edge; maybe the broad, intriguing expansive view of flora & fauna downhill satisfies its curiosity. We get scared that it may skid anytime.
Yet the confident, carefree donkey, with steadfast resolve and its hooves firmly grounded in the rugged terrain, keeps moving onwards. Mind that in the perilous hills, more people than donkeys slip into the ditch.
The line demarcating life and death is thin, and nothing can be taken for granted. Life on the edge has a message that without pondering over the past or future, both non-existent, each moment needs to be enjoyed till the sunset of life.
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The article is modified version of the one carried by Deccan Herald under Oasis column on 15 November 2025; link of article in online edition: https://www.deccanherald.com/opinion/creativity-lies-off-the-comfort-zone-3786587
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