
Lady Gaga (also known as Stefani Germanotta) says she is terrified of being a mother as she fears that having children will ruin her creativity. “Yes, some day (I want to have children). Although my womb is not yet beckoning for a child. I’m very far away from that day. I’m also terrified it will ruin my creativity,” contactmusic.com quoted her as saying.
The statement gave me pause for a moment (I mean even apart from wondering if anyone's womb ever beckons for a child and how much creativity is involved in p-p-p-p-poker face lyrics). Does becoming a mother make you less creative?
Sometimes. Yes. But no. But yes. (Maybe the "mommy brain" makes you guilty and indecisive instead of less creative. I don't know.)
And I'm not making fun of Lady. It's a serious question. She's a serious businesswoman. (Fast Company magazine recently named her the most creative person in business. Period. Pretty impressive.)
After thinking about it for a while, I think it all comes down to time and energy. Not beckoning wombs. I think if you're creative, you're creative - with or without children. As a parent, I've been creative in different ways. I've had less time to write. (I almost didn't write this blog entry because I knew it would take a while.) I spend more time in carpool lines and at baseball games. But I still feel creative.
Perhaps it's because, as Aldous Huxley said, the secret of genius is to carry the spirit of childhood into old age. Having kids around you all the time makes that much easier!
(But, Stefani, the kids will be ALL over those costumes, so you best be ready to share!)