In the post-information age that we live in, there is something new that is hard to find. While many look for new ways to be efficient or creative ways to tailor and adapt, Life reminds me that the difficult discovery is that of ideas. We live in an age of been there, done that and mechanized application for formulas. Everything is predictable, except a new idea.
Consider a new piece of music that touches your heart. When you hear it, it is as if you have found something brand new! While you might think it has always been within, the reality is that until this new way of expressing one’s self touched your senses, you did not know it existed.
Consider the question about a proposal in the making. When someone asks you a question that you have not and would not every think of, everything about your proposal is reshaped. The premise may get stronger or weaker, but the point is that a new idea in the form of a question led you to see your proposal very differently.
Consider the answer to a problem that defies being answered. As you consider a new idea, from within or from someone else, everything has the potential to be different. Conundrums can become choices. Dilemmas can become opportunities.
In each situation, I find myself wondering. Where did the new idea come from? Is there a source, a place of inspiration?
When it comes to ideas that lead to good outcomes, I find three consistent sources; hope, compassion, and empathy. When they are brought into the context of community (others), new ideas are born and have life. The Psalmist observed “Singers and dancers give credit to Zion: ‘All my springs are in you!’” (Psalm 87.7) As I think of Divinity, three words come to mind, hope, compassion, and empathy.
New ideas are as important as they are scarce. One way to ensure they continue to emerge is to embrace hope, compassion, and empathy. When one does, I find it feels good while it inspires creativity and new ideas.
