Out Of The Box

All children are born artists.
The problem is to remain an artist as we grow up.
The quote is attributed to Picasso.

How do we foster creativity in children?
How do we foster creativity in ourselves?

How do we handle the small child who wants to color the moon purple?
How do we manage the young child who would rather fidget about than sit at a desk ?
Can we continue on in the cookie cutter mentality with which we educate?

These were all questions I found myself asking as I listened to a lecture on education.
The lecture dealt with the state of education in our society; the stifling of creativity.
If we consider the Picasso quote, we either grow out of creativity or are educated out of it.

The speaker talked about Gillian Lynne.
Gillian is a choreographer famous for the musicals, Cats and Phantom of the Opera.
Gillian was terribly unsuccessful at school as she grew up in London.

She was easily distracted, she was fidgety, and had little concentration.
She distracted others in the classroom and was late with most of her assignments.
Her mother took her to a specialist since she was told that Gillian had a learning disorder.

The specialist talked to Gillian’s mother for over twenty minutes.
Gillian painfully waited.
The specialist said he wanted to talk to Gillian’s mother privately.

As the specialist got up to leave the room, he turned on the radio that was near his desk.
He and Gillian’s mother watched Gillian from another room.
Gillian immediately got up and began to dance.

Even though she was small, Gillian danced beautifully.
The specialist said, Your daughter does not have a learning disorder.
Your daughter is a dancer; enroll her in a dancing school.

Gillian’s mother followed his advice and enrolled Gillian in a dancing school in London.
Gillian flourished.
She was in school with other children just like her.

Children who needed to move in order to think.
Children who needed to be out of the box.
Children for whom the educational system was too confining.

Gillian eventually went to the Royal Ballet School in London.
She would meet Andrew Lloyd Webber years later and the rest is history.
Her choreography has brought pleasure to millions of people.

What would we do with a Gillian Lynne now?
Would we label her?
Would we medicate her?
Would we compel her fit into our mold?

The world would suffer a great loss.

God is Creator.
God’s creation is vast and varied.
God did not have a template to follow when He expertly created such magnificent beauty.

Since we are made in God’s image, we are creative people.
We cannot create ex nihilo (out of nothing) like God can.
God’s imprint enables us to see things uniquely and solve problems creatively.

Rather than label someone as hopeless or tell them to calm down, we allow them to soar.
Soar above the desk or the chair.
Soar above the test and the data.
Fly with all the talents God has given them.

Encourage them to be a thinker NOT a learner.
Encourage them to refuse spoon fed learning.
Encourage them to think and teach themselves for the rest of their lives.

Of course, education apart from God is useless.
Education loses its connectivity unless it is connected to God.

Solomon was the wisest man that ever lived.
Yet Solomon considered life meaningless.
Solomon looked for the meaning of life in study, pleasure, wine, wealth, and possessions.
Everything under the sun meant nothing to him.

I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. I devoted myself to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a heavy burden God has laid on man! I have seen things that are done under the sun; all of them meaningless, a chasing after the wind. What is twisted cannot be straightened; what is lacking cannot be counted…Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom, and also of madness and folly but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind.  For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief. (Ecclesiastes 1:12-15,17,18)

The search for knowledge apart from Wisdom is futile.
Knowledge on its own, apart from God, is meaningless.

When I applied my mind to know Wisdom and to observe man’s labor on earth, his eyes not seeing sleep day or night, then I saw all that God has done. No one can comprehend what goes on under the sun. Despite all his efforts to search it out, man cannot discover its meaning. Even if a wise man claims he knows, he cannot really comprehend it. So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and the wise and what they do are in God’s hands…(Ecclesiastes 8:16,17 and 9:1)

We need creative minds.
We need the mind of Christ.
We need to apply God’s Wisdom to life.
We need to get out of the box and think Christ’s thoughts after Him.

Then, it will all have meaning.
Then, we will soar.

Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40:31)

 

2 responses to “Out Of The Box”

1. “Train up your child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22: 6) I believe each person is born with a bent, a propensity or proclivity toward becoming someone special and unique. How exciting it is to observe and encourage the young in their discovery of who am I, and what is my purpose and right expression in God’s beautiful creation. The search consummates when we discover rest in Him.

   Reply

   • I agree, Ruth. God created us with unique gifts that He will use for His Kingdom.
     It is exciting to see a child grow into the man or woman God designed them to be.
     Gina

     Reply