*This post is part of Free for All’s “Making Magic” series, which will focus on Kelley’s exploration of the opportunities in the library’s Creativity Lab as well as musings about art, creativity and imagination.

During a recent fly tying class at the library, I was reminded of the power of looking at things in new ways. In this case, the instructor was talking about making your own flies for fly fishing, and how to spot inexpensive materials that make good representations of insects to attract fish.  For instance, do you think you could make a simple feather and some chenille look like a fly? Fly tying is an art that involves fine detail and a good eye for an accurate representation. Until this library program, I never really thought about fishing as creative. Well, to be fair, being a vegan I generally don’t think about fishing at all, but nevertheless, I received an important reminder from this class.

If you’ve ever seen the movie Dead Poets Society, you know it’s impossible to forget the scene where Professor Keating asks his students to stand on their desks in order to look at the world in a new way. (If you haven’t seen the movie Dead Poets Society, I beg of you, stop reading this post and go watch it now!) Whether you’re a creative looking for inspiration, or someone who would like to renew your joy for the day to day, taking a moment to see the world, and the people and things within it, with fresh eyes can enrich enrich your life immeasurably. So this week, I’m asking you, not necessarily to stand on your desk, but to step outside of your routine and really look around. Then, in the wise words of Neil Gaiman, use your experience to “write and draw and build and play and dance and live as only you can.”