Creativity, Service, Generativity

I wonder if many of the modern day ills—addictions, overwork, depression, cancer, allergies—are due to the relative cultural difficulty of participating in dance? If we are genetically disposed to respond to music—and people do, their toes tapping and their heads nodding--why is it so hard for people to dance in an environment saturated with music? Perhaps it is the very saturation of media—ipods, TV, radio and the Internet—that keep people from actually interacting or performing. We are always audience, watching, being hypnotized. Television in particular hypnotizes without the benefit of intent of healing its customers, although it can be "highly ritualistic and a type of ritual medium in itself for the culture" (Bell, 245). All media, but especially television can create narrative mythos and image, but it discourages by default any participation and performance. It puts everyone in the outer court, watching the ritual from outside.

[artifact: Salpuri Exorcism and the Dancing Gene essay

Reflection on the Rustic Gate

The rustic gate image is based on the rough, stacked split-rail fences still seen in the Appalachian backwoods of NC. This gate calls for creativity in the cauldron that stands in the field beyond the gate. I have developed many skills throughout my life, and at midlife, I am challenged to learn more: time management, marketing, multitasking, project management, getting enough exercise and sleep.
I am not there yet. I have focused so much on creating the money literally to GO to school, that I have not learned to use my time and my energy effectively for creative work. But I am feeling the push of it, the fire of it needing to be expressed

Bell, C. (1997) Ritual: Perspectives and Dimensions. New York: Oxford UP