Creativity

In graduate school I spent the summer in Saul, French Guiana - a sparsely inhabited village in the middle of a sprawling rainforest. The daily hot sweaty hikes deep into the rainforest to collect tree specimens of lecythidaceae (Brazil Nut) were punctuated with deep moments of wonder and awe. Columns of leaf cutter ants, flocks of macaws, swarms of butterflies and…

In Part I of this series, I quoted Socrates: “Wisdom begins in wonder.” I introduced the idea of how a sense of wonder animates a sense of connection, which enlarges our empathy and capacity to see and feel things deeply. Within us, creativity soars as wonder loosens our imagination. Wonder is that fleeting and momentary experience that dissolves time and lets…

Wisdom begins with wonder- From wonder comes affection- From affection emerges connection- From connection grows empathy- From empathy soars creativity- From creativity ascends wisdom- Wisdom begins with wonder. In the photo are the tools of my grandfather’s profession. Norman was first a miner in Wales, then a mine engineer in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania and later in life, he was an engineer…