Are You a Cultural Creative?

I’ve been asking people,“Have you heard of the term ‘Cultural Creative’?” Most people I ask say that they have not.

Then I ask “Do you know what a Cultural Creative is?” Most people, even though they have not heard the term before have a pretty good idea what it means. They also identify with it, “Oh yes, that’s what I am.”

Wikepedia suggests that a quarter of those living in the US are Cultural Creatives, slightly less in Europe. Who’d have thought!

There are green Cultural Creatives, there are high achievers in business who are Cultural Creatives – embracing ambiguity, and thinking outside of conventional norms.

Cultural Creatives are by nature free thinkers. We may have specific ideals and values orientations, but we are flexible and don’t generally join groups. Nor do we identify ourselves as Cultural Creatives – affirmed by all the people who had not heard the term before.

It’s a label that works well for our times. Gone are the days of singular class identity, singular ethnic affiliation, at least for some of us. If you identify as more than one thing – an artist AND a social activist AND a contemplative. Or if you are am Entrepreneur AND a poet AND a serious advocate for alternative energy – then you are also probably a Cultural Creative.

Cultural Creatives value authenticity, social justice, creativity, sustainability, feminism, plurality, independence, spiritual practice outside of the bounds of organized religion, education, volunteerism… Add your own. If you’re reading this the chances are you are a Cultural Creative, or know one.

So what’s the point of this new label? As always, to add a little clarity. I remember one friend whose face lit up in excitement, “Oh yes, that’s what I am, a Cultural Creative!” It was comforting for her to have something to identify with even though she didn’t ‘do’ groups or identify with any particular demographic. She was a Buddhist meditation teacher, a writer, of mixed race, a free thinker.

Now she could condense it all into the single phrase, “I’m a Cultural Creative!” at least for that moment.

More at http://www.manzanitavillage.org