It takes effort to maintain a dialogue. As David Bohm states: Dialogue is only possible if we accept we don’t know the outcome of our conversation and provided we are willing to examine our assumptions. We easily slip into discussions or monologues due to a fixation on a particular outcome or because we are unaware of our assumptions. Dialogue and creativity have a lot in common.

We often tend to get involved in a problem-solving cycle because our thoughts and wishes are largely based upon what should have been or will be. This seems to be the way we are conditioned. Creativity, on the other hand, is at its core, not about problem-solving. Creativity is linked to our ability to be open to opportunities that reach beyond a projected outcome. This distinguishes creation from production.

Our lives are marked by a fixation on efficiently achieving results. But to achieve results in an efficient way the outcome has to be fixed and wonderment has to be oppressed. As a result, we only harvest that which we crave, often less.

More and more we see a focus on production and consumption. But a man-made product had to be created first before it could be produced and consumed. Creation is a vital entity in society. A society that focuses only on production and consumption is decadent and will become insignificant in time.

We are led to believe that our desires, wishes and dreams are central in this world and we full-heartedly embrace the notion that everything should be constantly and immediately available. We, indeed, have become consummate consumers. But we have yet to solve one critical issue: there are certain things in this world that, by nature, cannot be ordered up. Personal growth for example, is only possible when you are available to it.

To get inspired and to inspire are the most powerful abilities of mankind.