I wrote a KTK diary a couple of weeks ago about one of my favorite topics: creativity. In that diary I wrote about dichotomy pairs, and of my admiration for Jonathan Larson’s thesis I use for my sig line on Daily Kos:
The opposite of war isn't peace, it's CREATION.
(Umm … no, not dichotomy pears! ::wink::)
More below the fleur de kos!
But I did not write anything about why creation - the making of something (perhaps even an idea) that was not there before - should have an anti-war/war countering aspect, about why utilizing our creativity is such a good thing.
When I was growing up I read a book by Richard Bach, entitled Jonathan Livingston Seagull. It told the story of a young seagull that was not interested in things that busied almost all of the other gulls, finding food, nesting, reproducing. The little gull was interested in flying. He spent his time practicing, exploring, testing, searching for ways to fly better. Faster. With greater control. He seemed to feel the purpose of a gull’s life is to fly, and to fly well.
The natural question was, if a bird’s special talent and sphere of creativity revolved around flying, what is the equivalent for human beings? We cannot see very well. Many birds see much better than we do. Cats see better in the dark. Our sense of smell isn’t very good. We cannot easily or effectively use it for tracking, for following prey. Our hearing is okay, but there are so many sounds we cannot hear. So many things we cannot hear if they are very faint, or far away. We cannot run very fast. We cannot fly, by ourselves, at any rate. What is it we do that is our special power?
I considered that decades ago when I first read Bach’s book, and I have considered it ever since. Yes, we have opposable thumbs. Yes we have fairly large brains for our body size. So we have some powerful assets and advantages. I don’t think a simply consensual answer to the question exists, species-wide. But, for me, the answer is in our creativity and sentience. For the way the time spent indulging our creativity, exercising it, exploring it tends to take us more deeply into our sentience, to expand it, to more fully realize it. I think it is an active process, not reactive.
But for me one of the greatest things about it is its power to inspire. Experiencing the great creativity of another human being (or a small group of them) is, for me, exceptionally inspirational. It lifts me up. It draws me in. It builds within me the desire to strive toward my own potential, as the creator I witness is striving toward hers or his or theirs.
Last time I wrote KTK, I wrote about Keb’ Mo’, and his creative genius. I left that show uplifted, and seeds of that inspiration linger with me still, as is true of so many creative geniuses I have encountered in my life.
And, in its way, I think inspiration counters war, too. No coincidence, I think!
What things do you find that inspire you? How does that inspiration nurture you toward your greater self?
Thank you for reading tonight!
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Kitchen Table Kibitzing is a community series for those who wish to share part of the evening around a virtual kitchen table with kossacks who are caring and supportive of one another. So bring your stories, jokes, photos, funny pics, music, and interesting videos, as well as links—including quotations—to diaries, news stories, and books that you think this community would appreciate. Readers may notice that most who post diaries and comments in this series already know one another to some degree, but newcomers should not feel excluded. We welcome guests at our kitchen table, and hope to make some new friends as well.
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