Personal Growth Planet Blog

You might not think of the culture here in the U.S. as devoid of fun and frivolity, but I think that it is. Look around and you might see all kinds of people doing all kinds of things that seem light and jovial…but, if you look a closer, this isn’t necessarily the case.

You see, there’s a huge difference between truly having fun and merely numbing out through entertainment.

Many of us seem to live in this impossible contradiction of wanting to do something important and valuable with our lives but then craving some outlet or sense of escape.

“…Anger can improve health, enhance intimacy, further social justice and spur creativity,” proclaimed the author of a recent Ode Magazine* article.

No Way!

At least that was my initial reaction to reading this statement.

In my experience and in my mind, anger destroys intimacy, is dangerous for a person’s health and stands in the way of creativity. In my mind, anger equals aggression, either overt and in your face or passive and seething just beneath the surface.

Swirls of color on a canvas. Voices and dance on stage. Handmade crafts of paper, cloth or found objects.

All of this will come together tomorrow in a Columbus, Ohio art show called KidzArtz that I have had the privilege of helping to organize with some Mother Artists at Work friends.

The creativity and imaginative spark that have gone into each craft, visual art piece and performance are amazing…all the more so because every artist is under the age of 18.

There is nothing quite so precious in both a child and an adult than the ability to imagine.