Wings from Wood

After her husband died, Nena went through each day feeling numb and distant, as if she were underwater. Everything seemed dull, and her heart felt empty. One morning, her daughter gently touched her shoulder and suggested she try to fix an old wooden chair in the garage.

At first, Nena looked at the broken chair leg and felt just as broken. She nearly gave up, but then she remembered her husband’s laughter in the kitchen, inviting her to stop for tea. She made herself a cup. As the steam rose, her thoughts began to settle, and a quiet healing began.

She came back with a notebook and wrote down the word “birdhouse.” At first, it felt silly, but the idea stayed with her. She drew a mind map with “chair” in the centre and words like “nest,” “perch,” and “wings” around it. She started to see the chair as a safe place for books and memories—somewhere to hold life, not just to sit.

Nena began using the SCAMPER method. She thought about replacing the seat with a woven basket to combine storage with seating and transforming the backrest into wing shapes. She also considered removing the armrests to keep it simple. Then she tried the Six Thinking Hats method. The red hat made her notice she felt joy, and the green hat helped her come up with five more ideas.

Soon, her garage was full of creative pieces: 

👉a chair with a lamp shaped like a guiding star, 

👉a rocking chair for memories, and 

👉a small stool with hidden drawers for dreams. 

With each new project, Nena felt her spirit returning. She grew more confident, and her hands became steadier.

Neighbours soon noticed her work and asked to buy some of her pieces. Nena smiled, tears in her eyes. She realised creativity was not magic or luck, but something that grew stronger with care and courage. The widow who once felt lost had rebuilt her life, one hopeful idea at a time.

Moral:

Healing does not happen all at once; through small acts of creativity and persistence, even a broken heart can slowly rebuild itself.

P.S : 

Research indicates that creativity is not an innate trait but a skill that can be systematically developed and enhanced through specific training and cognitive strategies (Leopoldino et al., 2016).

Creativity means

- Generating new ideas, alternatives and solutions in a unique and different way. 

- The ability to conceive something unpredictable, original and unique

TECHNIQUES :

Ask "What If?" (SCAMPER)

Take an existing product or idea and ask seven types of questions:

• Substitute: What can I replace?

• Combine: What can I merge with something else?

• Adapt: What can I copy or borrow?

• Modify: Can I change the size, shape, or color?

• Put to another use: How else can this be used?

• Eliminate: What can I remove or simplify?

• Reverse: What if I did the opposite?

 Creativity: Think from Multiple Perspectives with Six Thinking Hats

Look at your problem from six different angles, one at a time:

• White Hat: Just the facts and data.

• Red Hat: Your gut feelings and emotions.

• Black Hat: The risks and problems (critical thinking).

• Yellow Hat: The benefits and bright side (optimism).

• Green Hat: New ideas, possibilities, and alternatives (creativity).

• Blue Hat: Managing the thinking process itself.