The Power of Art

My mother is an artist. Some of my earliest memories are coming home from school and sitting on the floor next to her easel and talking to her while she painted. I suppose that is why I feel so strongly about the power that art has in shapping our realities. Not sold yet? Let's try an example. If I asked you what Jesus looks like you might describe a man with long hair and a beard. If I asked you to concentrate on the picture in your mind you might soon realize that the image you hold in your mind is actually a depiction of the Savior painted by an artist.

This reality-shaping power found in art is especially useful to us as parents trying to communicate to our children intangible ideas like love, work, and faith to children. We need tangible tools to help us convey these values and pictures are one of the most powerful ways to do this. Walt Disney once said, "Of all of our inventions for mass communication, pictures still speak the most universally understood language."

For this reason I am going to begin to introduce different pictures on this blog and how my wife and I have used these images to communicate our values to our children. This has not been a road without bumps and bruises. Often what I want them to see is not what comes across, but the victories have made the ride worth it. Stay tuned...

Why are there so many ways to communicate and so little being said...?

This post may officially move me into the "old codger" category. I have been looking at Facebook, Twitter, Blogspot, and a host of other Social Media tools to use in my business and I was overwhelmed by the evergrowing number of ways there are to communicate. In fact I think it is safe to say that there are more ways to communicate today than at any time in history. Take for example a celebrity that decides they want to send a Tweet and almost instantaneously thousands of fans read it. Or the company that wants to inform its customers of a new promotion and they can post it on Facebook and almost immediately a select group of interested fans get it.

With so many ways to communicate we might be led to think that much more is being said. When in fact it may ironically be that in the things that matter -  less is being said than ever before. Deep and lasting relationships are being replaced with interactions of convenience. Gone are the days of going to the neighbors and sitting on the porch just to shoot the breeze. Why talk when I can shoot you an email and you can message me later when you get a minute.

For all of this convenience it feels like we are giving up something. We are trading convenience for community. We are ready to abandon the sense of belonging that comes from face to face interaction, content to only reach out to others from our digital silos of solitude. No one is willing to sit an listen to Uncle Ed drone on about the war when they can just "Hide" him or unfriend him. There is something wonderful about learning to "endure" conversations that are not particularly interesting because someone else needs a listening ear (perhaps you are feeling that way as you read this one)..

I'm not sure what the answer is, but I feel confident it involves putting less of our energy into devices and more of it into people. It means suffering through a little more inconvenience so that we can connect with others in a real and meaningful way. An interesting idea from a person writing from his digital silo.