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Taught and Caught are like dance partners. While there is not a relationship, (Caught just shows up), how they relate is important. So, as the teacher, I have to teach (or provide) the needed skills, and balance this with the patience needed to wait for inspiration to spring from the student.

I sometimes give, as an assignment, the challenge to turn a piece of pottery, created on the wheel, into an animal. For most students who may have thrown little or never before, I wedge and center the piece of clay, showing them how to hold, and then squeeze his or her hands as the lump of clay is opened and then shaped. One young girl once looked at her cylinder and said, “This looks like a mug.” As she began to imagine a handle on her cylinder, a twinkle came into her eyes and she looked up at me and said “If I put another handle on this side, I could make an elephant!” Taught and Caught came together, giving expression to her creative spirit. It was not a willful act but rather an opportunity seized. These are the dynamics of health that Heinz Kohut describes as "the capacity to gain and be sustained by supportive others, learn and develop skills, and accomplish one’s hopes and aspirations" (Kohut, H., 1984, p. 77).

Taught, which allowed the Caught to drop in and step along side, begins to dance with the Caught. Together, they swing and sway till they decide, after talking together, to stop. And then, in much the same ways as Taught began, teaching and learning from the experience of shaping the piece continue until the task is finished.

Spirituality, including traditional religion, needs to see imagination as a dance partner. Together, community experience and values are Taught, while the other life-giving, spirit-in-the-present is Caught. Today’s over emphasis on relationships and commitment moves the focus away from how we relate to possessing or having power or the authority to decide. Prohibiting Gay Marriage would be an example. We try to make things happen rather than be MADE by what happens! Many pottery students begin class with the hopes of making a set of dishes. When the class ends, the person is humble, and has learned something about the challenges of relating to clay (which wants nothing at all!). The student then learns to look for and anticipate opportunities, without worry or self-consciousness. All visions of achieving some idealized goal have been set aside. The students generally leave with a combination of satisfaction, good self-esteem, a feeble looking pot, and a story. All of which strikes me like Christ in a Manger.

When, in a faith community, have you seen the twinkle in the eye and the words of surprise, “we can do this!”? I remember when I was given the responsibility to get a Sunday school back on its feet. I went around, visited with every one, former and current teachers, to understand what dynamics were at play and what hopes people had. Some teachers wanted the steady beat of biblical materials, while others wanted flexibility. As I listened, the idea of Jazz as a metaphor for the structure of the Sunday school caught my fancy. As often is the case when creativity emerges out of the collective unconscious, many supportive themes come together. This was the time that the Ken Burns Jazz series was on PBS. But the icing on the Creative cake was The Boeing Jazz Band. For years the band had been practicing in this Church but NEVER performed for the church. So, on the Rally Day, when the Sunday school was having its annual kickoff event, the Boeing Jazz Band was called on to play. And of course, some of those older adults just had to step out and dance. Taught and Caught together again, dancing.

The History of Creativity is like: A word spoken, A voice heard, A step taken, A hand lifted, A head turned. It springs forth or settles in. It is a spark that rides the crest of a wave. It is a thought that captures a sentence. It is a twinkle. The sheen from a tear. It is spirit and courage seen in motion and movement.

The History of Spirituality is in Hope sought, Forgiveness experienced, Purpose unfolding, Relationships renewing, and Life continuing. Endings fold into the Awe of existence, feelings and thoughts expressed yet nothing remains.

Creativity and Spirituality are like Twins, understanding each other without knowing. They love to partner in a dance. Creativity has perfect pitch. They are in the world in the only way that things truly are as one, differently.

References

Kohut, H. (1984). How does analysis cure? Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

This column is made possible by the contributions to the Oates Institute through the Two Lattes Club. Join the Two Lattes Club or Make a Donation to the Oates Institute.

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