While my mom was here visiting us over the holidays, we spent a lot of time at the farm looking at things and talking about options and so on. There were things that she came up with that were so simple, like painting a piece of furniture which is nice but not exactly our style, but yet somehow had escaped my mind.
One day, she said something which has really stuck with me and has become a bit of a motto or even mantra while we’ve been working on the house lately. She told me that when I was growing up, she would constantly discourage my father to give me coloring books because she wanted me to learn to color outside of the lines and create my own pictures without limitations. Especially while building the kitchen, we have come up with some ideas that might have escaped kids who’ve grown up in the video game generation. These things were quite simple, like using a bolt to secure the adjustable feet on the kitchen island when the screws were too small to thred into the foot, but after seeing so many dim people and children on reality TV, we have begun to slightly doubt the street smarts and creativity of upcoming generations.
Take music for example. Many of the new artists are only making a name for themselves by covering versions of older hits. Many times they don’t even change the feel of the song but perform it exactly like the original. How is this creative? Where is the skill and talent in performing karaoke and why are people buying these records by the millions? I know the younger generations control a lot of this but it’s just rather pathetic. Looking back on music and in particular those songs from the Rolling Stone Magazine’s Greatest 500 Songs of All Time List, it’s incredible to hear the talent and creativity of the artists. These people revolutionized music, they weren’t just copying it. Sure there are some who still break barriers and bring new styles…and I realize there doesn’t seem to be much anymore that is undiscovered, but why do we need to hear the same stuff over and over again? How many cover versions must the world endure??
OK, I’ve gotten a bit off topic…the point is, don’t ever let yourself just keep thinking within the coloring lines and within the box. Let yourself conquer little hurdles so the big ones get easier. Let the rule of “no coloring books” be ever-present in your mind and help you to push yourself harder to find a solution with the things you have and not with what you don’t.
