A hundred years ago, Rudolph Steiner said that the greatest challenge of the coming age of humanity would be to allow the heart to teach us to think in a new way. Our minds naturally observe things from a safe, analytical distance, but our hearts yearn to have a much different relationship with the world. [ Read more … ]
goethe
Drawing More
The anthropologist Margaret Meade said that education would never work unless it was based on art, by which she meant that all subjects should be taught in the spirit of imagination, exploration, and play. “We talk too much,” said the poet Johann Goethe, “We should talk less and draw more.” Just imagine what that would [ Read more … ]
Balancing Inner and Outer
My brother-in-law is a big fan of Goethe (full name: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.) By the way, I just discovered that the proper German pronunciation of his name is “Goo-t’h.” (Don’t feel bad—apparently his name was a challenge for people to pronounce back in his own day, as well.) In any case, every time I’m [ Read more … ]
Notes on Art and Social Change
In the process of writing up some new course proposals, I discovered some old writing I’d never sent out. The ideas are still present for me, so I offer them to you. I think we can all feel it: the rumblings of change are happening all around us. Of course, change is part of life, [ Read more … ]
Love is at the heart of genius
Mozart said, “Love, love, love—that is the soul of genius.” And Johann Wolfgang von Goethe claimed that “People cannot learn what they do not love.” Unfortunately, in our intellectualized society, where the power of the word nearly always triumphs over the power of the heart, having feelings (or dare I say, passion) for something isn’t [ Read more … ]
