Heroes Not Zombies

This is a drainpipe. But it’s not like any other drainpipe I’ve ever seen. I mean, have you ever noticed a drainpipe and stopped to take a photo of it? Nope, me neither.

But this speaks to something important. Too often we allow utility to be the beginning and the end. As if as long as it does what it’s supposed to do then that is entirely sufficient. However look what happens when someone with imagination, someone with a creative, artistic tendency gets involved.

For me, the expansion of effort and vision beyond and below simple utility makes our lives more fully human. It’s not just that the drainpipe is more beautiful and unique, it’s that my day was different, enhanced, by it being this way. I didn’t just pass by. I stopped, I looked with greater awareness. I stepped out of zombie mode, slowed down, and entered more fully into the present moment. On top of that I felt delight, joy and wonder…all emotions and experiences which make for a better life.

We don’t have to choose superficiality. We can experience a life of greater depth, a re-enchanted life by our encounters with beauty, by encounters with the creativity and imaginations of others.