"I think I'm going back

To the things I learned so well

In my youth.

I think I'm returning to

Those days when I was young enough

To know the truth"

These are the opening lyrics of 'Goin' Back', a song by Dusty Springfield (written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin). I remember it playing on the car radio as I was contemplating the source of my creative energy. I had just left a meeting where, for the first time, I had shown some images and said something along the lines of, "See this? I'm a change consultant but what I really do is work with art so that I can help people innovate and think creatively...."

I know that I've always been sceptical of the notion that the 'blue skies' are likely to be a great source of creativity. My sense is that we have everything we need within us. We should look 'in here' rather than 'out there.' 

This image arose from a looking back process. I had been wandering around the northern edge of Oxford Street after a day of imagery and inquiry with a client when I saw the sensuous curves and gorgeous red of this scooter resting in a corner of flat tones and hard lines...  I began to recall the red of my own similar indulgence, the beautiful Ducati motorcycle that was at home silently waiting for me to return.

But the image stayed on my hard-drive for a long time and then somehow ended up on my phone. It was here that I found it a few days ago when I was having a coffee and playing with 'Instagram', an 'app' that I thought might be interesting but have largely neglected.

So... Time to wander. An old song. The red scooter that provoked a quick snap. An iPhone app. A (re)found digital image. A cup of coffee.

Creativity?

Perhaps it's the moments when we pay attention to the stuff that we already have that matters.