WONDER, and the problem of the artist

There’s a famous quote by Pablo Picasso that I bet you’ve heard.  “Every child is born an artist.  The problem is to stay that way once we grow up.”

Picasso was pointing out that children have this natural, effortless, authentic, organic, continuous, and (most importantly) unselfconscious access to their creative faculties, and are channeling them into work and play constantly.

We tend to think of that as a youthful quality.

Some people are able to keep the same connection open into their adult years.  But not most of us, hence the challenge.  And the rest of us look with envy at those who have managed to meet it.

Most of us go to school, sit in rows, turn to the page the teacher instructs, and fill in the right blanks on the worksheet with the answer that will give us the highest credit.

But that’s not artistry, it’s conformity.  (I’m not simply saying conformity is bad, pros & cons like everything else.  Can conformity be artistic…? 🤔🤷‍♂️)  Whether we intend this result or not, this unselfconscious access to creativity is something we are socially conditioned to grow out of for numerous reasons I won’t get into here.  But as my clients know, the ideal mission of education is a topic never far from my mind.

Here’s another quote I love, that I see as closely related to Picasso’s, even predating it as it does by two millennia.

I see it variously attributed to Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle - understandable given the tight lineage of thought and influence: “Philosophy begins in wonder.”

Awesome.  Just awesome.

And I would even recast it in Picasso’s mold to read “Every child is born a philosopher.  The problem is to stay that way once we grow up.”

One of the things that keeps me hooked on conversations with my coaching clients is the feeling of wonder.  It’s reliable that we experience some of that in every session.  And there’s hardly anything better.

Like creativity, I see wonder as one of those qualities that is sadly conditioned out of so many of us.  Aristotle is saying that there is no way to begin to contemplate existence or our place here without the quality of wonder, and that we ought always be working from this understanding as we make our choices.

Wonder is deep, vast, rich, and open-ended.  It leads to a realm in which anything is possible, and where all possibilities should be explored.  Children live in a state of wonder, but adults are taught to relegate it to very specific spaces, like religious devotion and astronomy shows.  And don’t get me wrong - those are both great and important.

But, like creativity, we are sorely missing out if we don’t bring wonder to our everyday lives, work, families, company cultures, and communities.

There are certain questions, possibilities, insights, and results that can only be accessed through a state of wonder, and they tend to be the most exciting and inspiring ones.

In a state of wonder, we become children in the best way.  Innocent, receptive, trusting, optimistic, enthusiastic, energized, and curious.  Is there a better way to be?  I haven’t found it.

It’s impossible to be depressed, lethargic, or nihilistic from a state of wonder.

And wonder is contagious.

Do you ever marvel at existence, your mind, your family, your world, your life, life itself?  Do you feel absolutely free to do so?  That’s wonder.  And we should lean, no DIVE, into it for what it unlocks.

I’ll always take you there, to help you dream about what is truly possible.  That’s a promise.