Christmas has come again and as usual the normal activities have begun. Shopping, parties, and my personal favorite, the music! In general I LOVE music of all types, but Christmas allows me to play my favorite song without being mocked! :) One of my favorite songs in the world is “This Christmas”. The musical arrangement in concert with the lyrics and the soul behind the lyrics warms my heart. As I was watching TV today a remake of that song came on. Now I’m in love with the original recording by Donny Hathaway, but the recording I heard is a recent remake by a younger artist. The song is still close to the original arrangement. It has held on to the same lyrics, but for some reason I noticed that it feels different.
I continued to listen to the song, and then it dawned on me. How many songs and programs have you seen recently that are remakes of music and shows from the 60s, 70s, and 80s? These songs may change some lyrics and the programs may change the names of the characters, but in the end you feel as if you seen or heard it before. As I thought about this the question crossed my mind: Have we lost our creativity? So many in our generation are content with being a second best at what someone else created versus being the best them they can be. Think about it. How many people do you know that state they admired Michael Jackson and when you watch them, they are mimicking his every move? They have a God-given talent, but they chose to imitate someone else. It really makes you wonder….what happened to our individual creativity?
I know that things have been done to and said about our current generation and it makes me think, what have those words done to impede our creativity. My generation was the first to see the diagnosis of ADD and ADHD. Could it be that these children that are diagnosed as children with an issue just had an abundance of creativity that was not acknowledged and directed? If this is the case, have these kids taken the disease as a crutch to be lax in what they do and their abilities?
I feel that as a community it is our responsibility to reach out to children and help them discover their individual creative potential. We have to stop creating these cookie cutter children and direct them to use the gifts given to them by God properly. There are enough people trying to be someone else! I’m dedicated to teaching students to be the best them that God created them to be!
To the youth: You are amazing just the way you are. No you may not think about things in a way that others do, and who knows, it may be for good reason. Now, being different is not an excuse to go out and do ignorant things or be disrespectful! You can be a responsible citizen that is respectful of those around you and still express your creativity! I challenge you to find healthy ways to do so. If you have no idea on how to go about it reach out to a respectable, responsible, and supportive adult that can help you talk through your ideas.
To the adults: These young people are going to be the very people taking care of the world and us soon. We need to prepare them to cope with life as it comes versus making them dependent on other unhealthy outlets. Stop complaining about the bad they are doing and encourage them to use their gifts for something more positive. In the end they still need guidance, just as our predecessors of the 60s, 70s and 80s did. Those people tried new things that were not common, and many were a huge success. What child do you work with right now that could possibly be the next innovator of our time? Let’s revive creativity in the new year and stop being carbon copies of poor imitations or second rate versions of those who dared to be original!
Divine
~Long live creativity~
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