One of the most powerful wellsprings of creativity seems to be falling in love with something.–E. Paul Torrence (Creativity Scholar)
My 8 yr. old is searching for a lifelong creative passion. After watching Spain: On The Road Again, starring New York Times food writer Mark Bittman, my son said,
Mom? I know what I want to be when I grow up. I want to be a food critic. I said, Hmm. He said, Like Bittman. I smiled. He said, And, an inventor. And a comedian.
He didn’t wait for a reaction. He just walked out the front door, slowly and half-smiling, to ride his bike. Like many children his age, he’s a serial monogamist. Now, a few months later, he dreams of designing Legos for life. When he told me of this new dream, I said,
A Lego designer? What do you mean, like making cool stuff with Legos, or…
He said, No Mom. A Power-Miner designer. Just like Will.
I’m not sure how Will got such a hot job, but I suspect he’s an engineer. I told my son this but he wasn’t interested. Again, he walked off, slowly and half-smiling.
Some highly creative people recognize their life obsession very early.
Music producer Quincy Jones wanted to play the trumpet for the rest of his life, in 5th grade. Details were irrelevant. He just kept playing and followed his childhood passion into adulthood.
Hungarian writer Arthur Koestler, when asked by his kindergarten teacher, Why do we learn? said, In order to become famous. She also asked him what he would do when he grew up. He said, Make stories. Koestler did not plan out his dream step by step. Dreams usually are fuzzy, after all. Still, he became a prolific writer and died one of the most famous twentieth-century writers.
Creative passion begins in childhood. But, taking your childhood love seriously is, unfortunately, rare. Most of us, put aside childhood passions, thoughtlessly, like setting an old doll on a shelf and leaving it, knowing you’ve outgrown it. You grow up and follow new, more practical life goals.
Renaissance artist, Michelangelo said,
The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.
But, as Lebanese philosopher Kahlil Gibran said,
The things which the child loves remain in the domain of the heart until old age. The most beautiful thing in life is that our souls remain over the places where we once enjoyed ourselves.
So, I consider my little boy’s biggest dreams seriously. I will watch him flit around until he finds true love and when he does, I’ll find ways to help him pursue that dream.
Filed under: Childhood, Creative Families, Passion Tagged: | Childhood Dreams, Creativity in Children, E. Paul Torrence, Energy for Creativity, Gifted Children, Inspiration
Love this post. Thanks for sharing.
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