Recently, I found myself participating in an interesting exchange on LinkedIn, on the Architecture for Humanity thread. I am sharing it with you today because I believe it unveils some important aspects of our ability to use creativity as a means for positive change or to use creativity for a means of subtly adding to our sense of separation from the world. The topic is around architecture, but at its core, this applies to creativity, too.
An architect posted the following statement:
Architecture @ its best, has an inherent power to heal the human race and thus with one project at a time we can improve this bankrupt world.
To which I responded:
First off, thank you Ana and others for such a provocative discussion. In my opinion the real problem with this statement is “we can improve this bankrupt world.” Why? For one it assumes that the world is bankrupt and two, it posits the idea that “we,” meaning those of us for some explainable reason have arisen from this “bankrupt world,” somehow have the capacity to do something to “improve” it. As I see it, the problem doesn’t lie in the world but in this statement’s attitude about the world, that the world is broken and somehow needs to be fixed.
There is a Tibetan proverb that states, “Where there is veneration, even a dog’s tooth gives light.” What does this mean? It means that if you choose to see the world as bankrupt and if you think you are the one to fix it, you will only create more confusion. Why? Because you see yourself as separate, or even worse, superior.
True change, or better put, true transmutation comes from recognizing that we are intimately connected to everything and that the whole story of the universe is playing itself out in our day to day activities. The best thing we can do as architects and designers is to first establish a heart-felt connection with the world, to fall in love with it beyond right or wrong, beyond beauty or ugliness, and from this place, feel into what we can to contribute to the re-arising of the universe in the next moment. With or without us, the world will get along just fine. Our role as designers is not to save the world, but– through design– to tap into the dynamic, interdependent, deeply mysterious universe that has given rise to the world we experience, including the limiting opinions about whether or not the world is bankrupt.
She wrote back:
Perhaps my statement is inherently misunderstood, because when I say “Architecture” I don’t limit its definition to the “Architect Practice Act” the law governing the profession of Architecture, but rather from a broader perspective.
An architect is foremost a “problem solver” therefore such role is not limited to us, who design and build buildings for a living. It is a way of approaching problems (regardless of its nature) from a different perspective (outside the box). Therefore, it is incumbent in all of us to take a stand and not let life go by without being active participants of change. The power of one, can become the power of many, if we perceive ourselves as a force to be reckoned with. As Neruda, the Nobel Laureate poet, stated “At the end of our days, if we have been the architects of our destiny, we can fade in peace into the night…knowing quite well, that we left the world better than we found it.”
Is our world bankrupt? yep! I have witnessed it with my own eyes the evil we do to one another, either by staying silent instead of speak out and call a wrong not by using euphemisms, or by a developing a self-defeating attitude that our power to change the world around us is “a drop of water in the ocean”, but guess what? “the ocean would not be an ocean without that drop of water”… in short, every action counts, because outcome of good deeds are greater than the sum of its parts.
Do I need to itemize the evidence as to why our world is bankrupted at many levels? environmentally, financially, morally, socio-economic, education, financial disparity, etc. etc.
Here is what I believe at the core of my statement, “the less you have, the more you give, that is the absurdity of the capacity all of us have, if we chose to give so much of ourselves to be instruments of change, one deed at a time, one person at a time, one project at a time… in time it adds up and the boldness with which we chose to stand up and be counted has an inherent genius and magic to it.
I for one live and die by my sword, no Messianic delusions, I don’t need persuasion, because I believe in what I see, touch and smell, and in my limited experience, I have documented rather witnessing that even the smallest of good actions, have such exponential positive outcomes… a true wealth that spills over way beyond anyone’s expectations…
And I responded:
I agree that one of the overarching roles of an architect is a “problem solver.” But it is only half the equation. A good architect also has the quality of reverence and mystery, an empathetic love for the world, the unsolvable realm of the heart that bring beauty and the sense of something far more profound than what can be described by the individual pieces and parts of a project alone.
In the West, whether we are aware of it or not, we are all trained as engineers; we are all trained to think that there is a problem out there in the world and that it is up to us to solve it. This objective view of the world has lead to the amazing advances of science and the proliferation of technologies in the recent past. The objective view has also been one of the key factors in leading us towards environmental catastrophe and global financial implosion.
Granted, there are innumerable problems out there, big problems that need to be addressed. But what if we were to view the world, including its challenges, as utterly miraculous, and as opportunities to grow as individuals and as a collective? I believe our true creative power comes when we are able to unconditionally embrace the world as an extension of our self, to love it first, then, from this place of love, decide what needs to be done. In other words, to love and connect first then to problem solve; to lead with the heart then plan with the head.