--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Creativity occurs in an act of encounter…" description: "\"Creativity occurs in an act of encounter and is to be understood with this encounter as its center.\" — Rollo May" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1df/rollo-may-1295_creativity_creativity-occurs-in-an-act-of-encounter_2118762.jpg" --- # Creativity occurs in an act of encounter and is to be… ![“Creativity occurs in an act of encounter and is to be understood with this encounter as its center.” quote by Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1df/rollo-may-1295_creativity_creativity-occurs-in-an-act-of-encounter_2118762.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1df/rollo-may-1295_creativity_creativity-occurs-in-an-act-of-encounter_2118762.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1df/rollo-may-1295_creativity_creativity-occurs-in-an-act-of-encounter_2118762.jpg) > “Creativity occurs in an act of encounter and is to be understood with this encounter as its center.” [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Creativity emerges from encounters, with the interaction itself at its core. **In simple terms:** Creativity is born from meeting and engaging. Key Takeaway Engage deeply to spark creativity. Themes creativity encounter center Mood curious introspective Type philosophical artistic When to use this quote - art workshops - collaborative projects - mindful observation Key Concepts existentialism process mindfulness Questions to Reflect On - What encounters have sparked your ideas? - How can you center the process in creation? A Different Perspective May ignore solitary inspiration. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Creativity Occurs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity-occurs-622741/) [Encounter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/encounter/) [Encounter Center](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/encounter-center-622743/) [Encounter Understood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/encounter-understood-622742/) [Encounters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/encounters/) [Understood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understood/) [Understood Encounter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understood-encounter-622744/) ## Related quotes > [Creativity occurs as an act of encounter, and is to be understood with this encounter at the center.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/creativity-occurs-as-an-act-of-encounter-and-is-to-be-understood-with/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [“Creativity occurs in introverted space. Instead of considering those who seek solitude as anti-social, weird and non-team players, let's learn to respect this gift…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-d-gonsalves/creativity-occurs-in-introverted-space-instead-of-considering-those/) [Gloria D. Gonsalves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-d-gonsalves/) > [Creativity occurs in the moment, and in the moment we are timeless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/creativity-occurs-in-the-moment-and-in-the-moment-we-are-timeless/) [Julia Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/) > [Prayer is both conversation and encounter with God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/prayer-is-both-conversation-and-encounter-with-god/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [Whenever you meet anybody, it is a holy encounter. The primary event is the energy field of presence between you and the other human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/whenever-you-meet-anybody-it-is-a-holy-encounter-the-primary-event-is/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [A moment’s encounter can decide the direction of one’s entire life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daisaku-ikeda/a-moment-s-encounter-can-decide-the-direction-of-one-s-entire-life/) [Daisaku Ikeda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daisaku-ikeda/) > [“If an encounter with a person doesn't feel right, probably it's not right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitta-xinindlu/if-an-encounter-with-a-person-doesn-t-feel-right-probably-it-s-not/) [Mitta Xinindlu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitta-xinindlu/) > [ Faith is above all a personal, intimate encounter with Jesus, and to experience \[His\] closeness, \[His\] friendship, \[His\] Love; only in this way does… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-benedict-xvi/faith-is-above-all-a-personal-intimate-encounter-with-jesus-and-to/) [Pope Benedict XVI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-benedict-xvi/) > [All actual life is encounter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/all-actual-life-is-encounter/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) > [To every soul you encounter, be a mirror, which reflects only their beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-every-soul-you-encounter-be-a-mirror-which-reflects-only-their/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A full-blooded encounter for a number of reasons, many of them illegitimate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-champion/a-full-blooded-encounter-for-a-number-of-reasons-many-of-them/) [Jon Champion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-champion/) > [An encounter with god or with the transcendent, per se, can only occur when we experience the violent side of god.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/an-encounter-with-god-or-with-the-transcendent-per-se-can-only-occur/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The impulse to paint comes neither from observation nor from the soul (which is probably blind) but from an encounter: the encounter between painter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/the-impulse-to-paint-comes-neither-from-observation-nor-from-the-soul/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [A crisis is a close encounter of the third kind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-finley/a-crisis-is-a-close-encounter-of-the-third-kind/) [Guy Finley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-finley/) > [The essence of Christianity...is an ever-new encounter with... the God who speaks to us, who approaches us and who befriends us!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-benedict-xvi/the-essence-of-christianity-is-an-ever-new-encounter-with-the-god-who/) [Pope Benedict XVI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-benedict-xvi/) ## More by Rollo May > [Human freedom involves our capacity to pause between the stimulus and response and, in that pause, to choose the one response toward which we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/human-freedom-involves-our-capacity-to-pause-between-the-stimulus-and/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [Political freedom is to be cherished indeed. But there is no political freedom that is not indissolubly bound to the inner personal freedom of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/political-freedom-is-to-be-cherished-indeed-but-there-is-no-political/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [Joy is the effect which comes when we use our powers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/joy-is-the-effect-which-comes-when-we-use-our-powers/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [In religion, it is not the sycophants or those who cling most faithfully to the status quo who are ultimately praised. It is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/in-religion-it-is-not-the-sycophants-or-those-who-cling-most/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [One of the few blessings of living in an age of anxiety is that we are forced to become aware of ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/one-of-the-few-blessings-of-living-in-an-age-of-anxiety-is-that-we/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [Intimacy requires courage because risk is inescapable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/intimacy-requires-courage-because-risk-is-inescapable/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [Artists do not run away from non-being, but by encountering and wrestling with it, force it to produce being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/artists-do-not-run-away-from-non-being-but-by-encountering-and/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [“Technology is the knack of so arranging the world that we do not experience it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/technology-is-the-knack-of-so-arranging-the-world-that-we-do-not/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [By the creative act, we are able to reach beyond our own death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/by-the-creative-act-we-are-able-to-reach-beyond-our-own-death/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [Joy is the zest that you get out of using your talents, your understanding, the totality of your being, for great aims...That's the kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/joy-is-the-zest-that-you-get-out-of-using-your-talents-your/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [One must have at least a readiness to love the other person, broadly speaking, if one is to be able to understand him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/one-must-have-at-least-a-readiness-to-love-the-other-person-broadly/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [Man is the "ethical animal" ethical in potentiality even if, unfortunately, not in actuality. His capacity for ethical judgment like freedom, reason and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/man-is-the-ethical-animal-ethical-in-potentiality-even-if/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [Evil, in this system of ethics, is that which tears apart, shuts out the other person, raises barriers, sets people against each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/evil-in-this-system-of-ethics-is-that-which-tears-apart-shuts-out-the/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [We receive love — from our children as well as others — not in proportion to our demands or sacrifices or needs, but roughly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/we-receive-love-from-our-children-as-well-as-others-not-in-proportion/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [The opposite of courage in our society is not cowardice, it is conformity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/the-opposite-of-courage-in-our-society-is-not-cowardice-it-is/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) [Explore all 259 Rollo May quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) ## More Creativity quotes > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“The Soviet “creative intelligentsia” - that is, people accustomed to thinking one thing, saying another and doing a third - is as a whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-amalrik/the-soviet-creative-intelligentsia-that-is-people-accustomed-to/) [Andrei Amalrik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-amalrik/) > [It’s so important to create in your own voice, to hold onto what makes you unique, and have faith in your vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lasseter/it-s-so-important-to-create-in-your-own-voice-to-hold-onto-what-makes/) [John Lasseter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lasseter/) > [A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/a-rock-pile-ceases-to-be-a-rock-pile-the-moment-a-single-man/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [You don't get lucky. You create lucky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sharma/you-don-t-get-lucky-you-create-lucky/) [Robin Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sharma/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [“You are the end of beauty and creativity one must have created so far.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/you-are-the-end-of-beauty-and-creativity-one-must-have-created-so-far/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [Jonah Lehrer is one of the most talented explainers of science that we’ve got. What a pleasure it is to follow his investigation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/jonah-lehrer-is-one-of-the-most-talented-explainers-of-science-that/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [If you've got creativity, imagination, and intelligence, and you want to be hypnotised, then there's no reason you shouldn't be able to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-barry/if-you-ve-got-creativity-imagination-and-intelligence-and-you-want-to/) [Keith Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-barry/) > [“I believe in magic. As a writer, I create them on blank paper.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonnia-kemmer/i-believe-in-magic-as-a-writer-i-create-them-on-blank-paper/) [Sonnia Kemmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonnia-kemmer/) > [Creativity is like chasing chickens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christoph-niemann/creativity-is-like-chasing-chickens/) [Christoph Niemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christoph-niemann/) > [It is proposed that a form of free dialogue may well be one of the most effective ways of investigating the crisis which faces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/it-is-proposed-that-a-form-of-free-dialogue-may-well-be-one-of-the/) [David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/) > [You always hear actors say, 'Theater is my first love,' and it is. It's a time when you really get to do what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-landecker/you-always-hear-actors-say-theater-is-my-first-love-and-it-is-it-s-a/) [Amy Landecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-landecker/) > [Create an environment for people to fail, to learn, and to grow. Their creativity and productivity will increase.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/create-an-environment-for-people-to-fail-to-learn-and-to-grow-their/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 13,625 Creativity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Creativity occurs in an act of encounter and is to be understood with this encounter as its center.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rollo May" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/creativity-occurs-in-an-act-of-encounter-and-is-to-be-understood-with/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Creativity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/creativity-occurs-in-an-act-of-encounter-and-is-to-be-understood-with/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1df/rollo-may-1295_creativity_creativity-occurs-in-an-act-of-encounter_2118762.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1df/rollo-may-1295_creativity_creativity-occurs-in-an-act-of-encounter_2118762.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1df/rollo-may-1295_creativity_creativity-occurs-in-an-act-of-encounter_2118762.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Creativity occurs in an act of encounter and is to be understood with this encounter as its center.” — Rollo May", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Rollo May", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Creativity occurs in an act of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/creativity-occurs-in-an-act-of-encounter-and-is-to-be-understood-with/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/creativity-occurs-in-an-act-of-encounter-and-is-to-be-understood-with/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```