- Education & Catastrophe
- Posts
- Express Yourself
This week's newsletter almost feels like a continuation of last week's topic - The Art of Choosing What to Do With Your Life - but coming at it from the angle of creativity rather than reasoning. This issue is inspired by a TED talk Give Yourself Permission To Be Creative by Ethan Hawke.
Creative Expression is Sustenance
"Art's not a luxury, it's actually sustenance. We need it.
Human creativity is nature manifest in us."
Many people know Ethan Hawke as the famous actor, but few people know how he got into acting. He fell in love with acting after he performed in a George Bernard Shaw play when he was 12, and he has not stopped acting since.
"My world just expanded. And that profession - I'm almost 50 now - that profession has never stopped giving back to me, and it gives back more and more."
It's beautiful how Ethan Hawke discovered an avenue to express himself when he was a child, and that outlet for creative expression has given back so much to him throughout his entire career. Through the characters he has played, Ethan Hawke realised how much he has in common with cops, criminals, priests and sinners, and how connected everyone is. He talked about his brother who was a colonel in the Green Berets, and how for him creativity was leadership and bravery, leading others and helping others.
"We know this -- the time of our life is so short, and how we spend it -- are we spending it doing what's important to us? Most of us not."
Creative Expression as a means to Self-Discovery, Meaning and Purpose
Most of us don't spend time doing what's important to us because we are creatures of habit. We just go along the path in front of us. How many people have the courage, or the clarity of thought, to forge their own path?
"If you want to help your community, if you want to help your family, if you want to help your friends, you have to express yourself. And to express yourself, you have to know yourself. It's actually super easy. You just have to follow your love. There is no path. There's no path till you walk it, and you have to be willing to play the fool."
Giving yourself permission to express yourself is the way to find that path. Kids are really good at this, because they don't have habits. They don't care if they are good or not. They just throw themselves at whatever project we put in front of them, trying their hardest to impress upon others their individuality.
Kids are joyful and infinitely creative - Keep the spark!
It is a shame we lose this desire for creative expression as we get older, and it's an even bigger shame that as adults we make kids lose it as well. Knowingly or unknowingly, many adult figures in a child's life beat the curiosity, creativity and individuality out of kids through the words we use and the things we say. When we ask our child to give up ballet because it's close to exams, or when we tell our child attending cram school every weekend is more important than playing with friends.
If you like to rediscover that creativity you lost along the way, IDEO has curated a list of 15 podcasts that inspire creativity. Radiolab is probably my favourite on the list. And if you are a parent reading this, no need to look for resources to help kids become more creative. Kids are naturally creative. We just need to give them time and space to explore. And curb our instinct to pack their schedule because we think idle time is bad. Instead, we should let kids learn to deal with boredom. It's how they hone their creative instincts.
If this was useful to you, please share it with your friends!
Subscribe now and follow me on Instagram and Twitter for thoughts on raising curious, self-directed learners.
Remember, it's hard work being a great parent to your child. You're doing your best.
Till the next issue!