I recently read a fascinating book about the connection between anxiety and creativity. The theory was simple: that the two brain states exist on a toggle. When one is active, the other is not. Intriguing, right? I looked back at moments when I’d experienced each of those states and found it quite accurate. I couldn’t think of instances where both states were pronounced at the same time. 

This seemed like good news to me. After all, there are plenty of sources of anxiety in our world today. Who wouldn’t benefit from a reliable way to ease it? The trick, of course, is figuring out how to activate creativity at will. The author saw this question coming and offered an answer: curiosity. To flip the toggle from anxiety to creativity, the lever most readily available to us is our own curiosity. It’s simply leaning into our “hmm…that’s interesting” moments. It’s allowing “I didn’t realize…” to move naturally to “I wonder…” and on into “Perhaps I could…”. 

Now that felt like amazing news! One of my favorite things about working in public media is spending all day in a virtual curiosity factory. I’m literally surrounded by stories that take me somewhere I haven’t been, introduce me to someone I haven’t met, or pose an idea I haven’t considered. What a gift! 

Luckily, this curiosity factory is open to everyone, 24/7, free of charge…thanks to you. Thank you for giving the gift of curiosity and creativity to everyone in our community. 

Rachel Knight
General Manager