Sunday, July 15, 2007

creative people and creative spaces



what would happen if a couple of passionate people got together and focused their creative thoughts towards solving a problem?

robert putnam discusses several stories of people who do just that. facing topics such as bringing peace to a neighborhood plagued with crime to a city wide creative project to host a neutral space where people of opposite viewpoints can co-exist for the benefit of a greater whole.

reading his book "better together" stirs in me a longing to be involved in something significant. my searching has been ongoing for some time. i have found bits and pieces of it in my own home. i would love to add to that a project that reaches out into the community and city in which i live every day. there must be something at work out there that is bigger than i am, but that requires my efforts and that of others who are willing to sacrifice time and resources in order that someone else might have the opportunity to experience belonging, purpose, and hope for a future.

social entreprenuership is a field that has recently popped up and really pushes my button. the idea of bringing people together who might not normally meet but yet find themselves compelled to join hand in hand to bring about change is a challange that sparks my soul. whether it is creating something new or whether it is renovating something that is completely outdated doesn't really matter.

maybe my searching is a search to find soemthing that is in need of repair. as i have been doing some much needed updates in my own home, i am also looking outside for a house or project that needs some restorative attention. as hard as it might be to believe, i find that most people don't want help or they don't want to admit that they could use some help. i wish the phone would ring and someone would say, help. i think the One who repairs the world knows that i want to help and i pray that things are in motion that will soon reveal themselves and that the project may begin.

2 comments:

GoteeMan said...

Michael - Great post! I have found that sometimes it has been hard for me to ask for or even receive help, even though we need so much of it right now, with Kim's illness... Just this week, I have had 3 different people offer to go get groceries for us... so I finally took one up on it again.

I don't really know why it's hard to ask for or accept help... maybe pride - not wanting to seem needy, or maybe not wanting to be a burden on anyone else... But the fact is - I CAN'T DO IT ALONE. That is the one thing that is glaringly obvious. I am so thankful for the folks who don't take no for an answer...

God bless you, Darla and the girls.
Jeff

Jacqui said...

isn't it crazy?

when we need help it's hard to ask. when it's offered (whew! we didn't have to ask) we don't know how to accept it. when we want to help, we don't know who or how to ask.

we too are currently looking around for opportunities to jump in and lend a hand in whatever way we can...wherever we can. i know it's a prayer God would want to answer...i'm praying now that i'll be awake and aware when He does.

we'll keep praying for your quest as well...