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In 1934 educator John Dewey published a book of that title, and while his dense language and convoluted writing style make it almost impenetrable at times, his philosophy is long over due to be revived.
As I look back on my own education and reflect on the systems and society we live in today, I realize how much we've been trained to ignore. We have been domesticated, (to borrow a term from Don Miguel Ruiz in "The Four Agreements"), in a commodity driven society. We train our young people to focus on an end product, with the most amount of efficiency and immediacy, to become marketable in the workforce, and to produce something that can be weighed and measured, and then capitalized on. Don't get me wrong, I am not against capitalism (which is a topic for a whole other blog), I only want to make the point that we have bastardized our ideals. We live in a society that states our unalienable rights are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, yet creates systems that program us to unconsciously sacrifice all of that to feed some fabricated economic beast. We are training our young people to chase dreams of material wealth and acquisitions, fame and notoriety, yet Liberty can not truly exist when we obliviously shackle them to the feeding trough of a beast that should, in fact, be serving them. Young people are led to believe that happiness should be immediate and constant rather than realizing the joy is found in the pursuit.
Paradigm shift
In art school we frequently debated process vs product. Process spoke to me. Previously, I had confabulated the story that my skills were not sufficient enough to produce a worthy product by society's standards. Admittedly my skills were undeveloped, but that story fed the notion that I was not worthy as an artist. I was not worthy to compete in the world of art production and therefore would never "make it" as a professional artist. But through the lens of process-oriented art I slowly developed the realization that the end product was NOT the purpose, The process was what gave my creative effort purpose and meaning. The product was mere residue.
Around this same time I had the opportunity to participate in an outdoor adventure workshop that would further shift my whole concept of what it means to exist and create in this world. The philosophy that guides this program were based in two models: David Kolb's Experiential Learning Cycle and the Adventure model. Up to this point my other educational "experiences" had provided some concrete task or activity that was to provide a concrete product, knowledge or skills, period. But these "new" models don't stop there. In these models the facilitator intentionally guides the participants to reflect on the experience: what was seen, heard, felt? Where were they feeling it in their body? What previous knowledge, attitudes, skills were brought into play? What were the consequences of what was experienced or what was absent? What personal meaning is constructed? Furthering the process, participants are guided to transfer this new learning to other experiences and effectually becomes a spiral of growth and development. In this model, there is a learning focus, but there is no predicting a finite outcome for each individual and no finite product that can be measured by narrowly defined standards.
When we hear the word adventure what comes to mind? Skydiving? rock climbing? Sailing full speed down a rain slick hill on a road bike? Most of us picture exhilarating, adrenaline filled activities. But the adventure model is not about the specific activity, rather it is a way of doing. Project Adventure, inc defines adventure as consisting of elements of surprise and challenge, moments where the participant is on the brink of success and failure. There is some risk involved, whether it is perceived or real, physical or emotional, but there is trust and safety embedded in the process. The participant is self aware, free to express themselves and push beyond their limits. There is a deep engagement and focus where nothing else exists, but being fully present in each moment.
WOW! This was an eyeopener! Transferring these concepts to how I personally approached art- making was a game-changer. I began to develop that self awareness and learn to trust myself and my ideas, experiment and explore, take creative risks. No longer grasping at some preconceived final product, (neither on the canvas nor in my daily interactions) how I might be judged by critics, or whether I am marketable. I am able to find Flow, as psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, calls it. These are peak experiences, where senses are heightened, time is non-existent, judgement and doubt are suspended, and afterward I know I am somehow transformed and feel more alive, free and joyful. My spirit has been elevated in the process. And paradoxically the residue, the results, are much greater than if my focus had only been on the product.
Open your eyes that you may see with the clarity of the spirit, that which is of the spirit. To half close your eyes is to belittle the creative power of man ~ Louis Sullivan, Architect
John Dewey tried to engage educators in this very philosophy almost 100 years ago. Now, I believe my mission and purpose is to facilitate full value experiences, to guide others in the process and adventure of creating their best life. Learning how to BE fully and completely in this world.
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