I stood in front of the room, 17 people looked back at me. They were waiting for direction, for guidance on how to start this creative journey. I could feel the anxiety rise up in myself and in the others. How was I going to help everyone with their own uncertainty when I felt so lost myself? I needed help!
He walked up to the whiteboard with scented markers in hand. “We need to create a container to support this creative process, like a goldfish is supported by the bowl that it is in”. I slowly retreated to my seat among the rest of the group. That sounded really creative, he certainly must know what he is doing!
Months later, I have a deep appreciation for that “bowl” we created to support our journey. It continues to support us through this confusing, frustrating and rewarding creative experience.
6 comments:
Is the construction of the bowl, not what is restricting new thoughts and ideas, purely because the creation of the bowl comes from our current mental models? I do however appreciate that creativity must start somewhere.
The bowl serves as a form of security to allay the fears of those who want to let go and experience creativity.My personal journey (forthcoming attraction) has been fraught with fear up to a point when confidence takes over.
How about making that bowl a little porous and see how creative the fish becomes!!!
I think there is an art in constructing the boundaries. Too much and people are stuck in their current paradigms and comfort zones.
Too little and the risk is just too high.
I am convinced that some risk need to remain, creativity without risk and exitement is just so much mass produced pronography. It cheapens the soul...
I don't see the bowl as being restrictive. The bowl is just there to contain a specific situation. The role of the frame is simply to display a great painting, yet it also rounds off the visual appeal. The same painting will look very different in another frame. Maybe the real creativity lies in the choice of bowl to ensure what it contains is best displayed?
How tensile your container is, seems to determine how much pressure it can hold. From Dialogue theory, the utility of the container seems to be to allow people the space to express increasing levels of truth. So if you've all built quite a robust container, the views you'll be able to express safely can be that much more authentic than you might have ventured in the beginning of knowing each other.
Post a Comment