e. e. cummings

"I'd rather learn from one bird how to sing than to teach ten thousand stars how not to dance."

— e. e. cummings

American Poet, Painter

1894 - 1962

Ask any teacher and they will tell you, if they are being honest with themselves: that it is easier to learn something yourself, then to teach someone else how to do something.  It is easier to write a novel then to teach someone else how to write a novel.  It is easier to paint a picture than teaching someone to paint.  So never badmouth a teacher.  They deserve respect.  What they do is special.  And the good ones have been given a gift that most of us will never have.  As another school year is coming to a close, celebrate the teachers in your life.  Celebrate those who fostered your creativity and talent.  Give thanks for those who inspired you and mentored you.

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Gabriel Garcia Marquez

"He allowed himself to be swayed by his conviction that human beings are not born once and for all on the day their mothers give birth to them, but that life obliges them over and over again to give birth to themselves."

— Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Colombian Novelist

1927 -

Creating works of art is the way to give birth to yourself again and again.  Whether we tell stories or paint or sculpt we are re-creating our lives.  We are giving birth to ourselves anew.  Every work of art you create is a part of who you are and who you are becoming.  Celebrate each new creation as if you are celebrating your birth.  Be happy that you have the discipline to become born again and again.

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Thomas Merton

"Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time."

— Thomas Merton

American Writer

1915 - 1968

Have you ever lost yourself in your art and woke up wondering how you created what you did?  I have sometimes written for several hours only to read what I wrote days later and be surprised by what I wrote.  Something happens where I seem to disappear into the writing process and am only partially conscious.  Yet through the process of writing I have also been able to heal myself and in the process find myself.  Creativity is a mysterious, mystical and spiritual process that brings us closer to who we are meant to be.  If you have experienced the creative process, then you have been blessed with a gift.  Give thanks for what you have been given.

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Anna Quindlen

"The thing that is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself."

— Anna Quindlen

American Author

1953 -

Like many people, I have for much of my life tried to be perfect.  The perfect student.  The perfect son.  The perfect employee.  The perfect husband.  The perfect writer.  The perfect father.  The perfect speaker.  It took me years to understand that I would never be perfect.  That my character contained flaws, many of which I could not see or understand.  Perfection is impossible.  I can never be perfect in the eyes of others.  I can only be me with my unique strengths and weaknesses.  I have come to the point where I don't have to spell every word correctly.  I don't have a panic attack when I send out an email with mistakes.   I don't worry when I slur my words when I speak.  

How about you?  Have you kicked the perfection habit?  Or do you beat yourself up every time you make a mistake?  The next time you screwup give yourself a pat on the back.  Celebrate the fact that you are human.  Treat yourself to a massage.  And most of all, forgive yourself.

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Nancy Grossman

"When I was a little kid I always drew on the walls, on books, on scrap paper.  I loved to draw.  It was something to rejoice upon.  It was magical."

— Nancy Grossman

American Artist

1940 -

Do you enjoy painting, drawing, or writing?  Creativity is magical and fills us with joy.  It is one of the best gifts we have been given.  Remember the joy you had drawing as a child.  That is the same feeling you should have as an adult.  If you don't have fun creating, then maybe you need to reevaluate your life and go in a different direction.  Producing creative work should fill your spirit with joy.  To create something from little or nothing is magical.  

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Mary Oliver

"One must work with the creative powers — for not to work with is to work against; in art as in spiritual life, there is no neutral place."

— Mary Oliver

American Poet

1935 -

Sometimes people refuse to accept the gifts they have been given.  And some even fight the gifts or deny them.  We need to embrace our gifts and accept the responsibility that goes with the gift.  Be happy to work with what you have been given.    Celebrate your creative powers.

Here is Mary Oliver reading 2 of  her poems as well as being interview by Coleman Barks.

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Barbara Sher

"Every single one of us can do things that no one else can do — can love things that no one else can love . . . We are like violins.  We can be used for doorstops, or we can make music."

— Barbara Sher

American Author, Speaker

Are you playing the music that is inside you?  Or have you hidden it away in the closet, not to be heard by anyone?  Each of us is unique.  There is no one like us.  Each of us has something to offer the world?  Do you know the gift that you are giving back to the universe?  No one else can be you.  Celebrate your uniqueness.  You are someone special.  Don't let anyone put down what makes you unique.  




Take a moment and listen to Barbara's message.

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Steve Jobs

“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.” 

— Steve Jobs

American Businessman/Inventor

1955 - 

Can we change the world?  Jobs thinks so and he has done so with the Apple computer, the MAC, the I-Pod, the I-Phone and the I-Pad.  And yet he has not touched the human heart.

I think we can change the external world a lot easier than we can change the internal world.  Steve Jobs, Thomas Edison and others like them have changed the way we communicate and interact, but they have not changed the people who communicate.  We still have liars, thieves, rapists and murderers.  We have greedy, mean and negative people. We still have people who are poor, hungry and jobless.  Technology does not change the heart.  The computer did not make us better people.  The internet did not make us better people.  Think about how many people run scams via the computer or hackers who steal people's information and identities.

Changing the human heart is an inside job.  Only I can change myself.  Only I can make me a better person.  And even then I often fail.  And some would say that only God can change the human heart.  Yet, if you look at some of the religious leaders who commit adultery and you will realize that He too has failed.  How many times have you tried to change old habits and failed?  Our human nature is often a barrier to our success.  People keep hoping the world will change and it does, just not always for the better.

So can we as creative leaders change the world?  I don't think the answer can easily be found.  We can change somethings but not all things.  But we must keep trying.  We cannot let failure stand in our way.  Let us celebrate the rebels. the misfits and the troublemakers because they look at the world through rose-colored glasses.  They see things that others do not see.  They find hope where others give up and quit.  So I celebrate hope amidst my failures.  And I still choose to believe that I can change.  Don't you?

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