"Everyone is an artist."

I've heard this forever. Surrounded by pithy reinforcements of my untapped ability to draw an apple I've long wondered how so many people can be so sure of something they've never had any proof of. Then I'm reminded of most perspectives...

But I digress. Back to the thin line of logic I'm desperately trying to clarify in support of one word, collage. Let's give it form: collage is derived from a 20th century French word that literally means "gluing". Confirming much, if not all, of what I know about collage (glue and stuff) I'm thrilled to confirm my expertise and broad understanding of the word "collage". Not to be confused with the word "college". If this was another blog post (or better yet another site) I'd offer my experience of substituting the former for the latter.

Yet maybe it is that post. Yup...executive decision...it is a post about how collage can be substituted for college. In my case I've been gluing things together for a long time. Experience, perspective, curiosity and the like. As I look back over my collage I'm reminded how things often change over time. What made no sense in the moment looks like perfection in motion from a future, reflective perch. All those parts, pieces and movement that once made me anxious, now appear as a perfectly placed assortment of tiles glued together into a fresco. A masterpiece of indecision, anxiety, concern, wonder, excitement, attempts, process, forgiveness and gratitude. Each piece randomly (or so I thought) placed next to another...

...and glued. Semi-permanently placed. To be admired from a few steps back. Looking at the whole and no longer just the pieces. Time for more glue...

Note: I realize the title of this blog is sooooo overused as to be cliché, but stick with me here – I think you’ll see how truly apt it is for this post! Thanks!
 
One of Meaningful Trainings’ signature phrases, “Stitching Together” usually refers to establishing and sustaining relationships across generations – familial, organizational, etc. – to facilitate the transfer of knowledge that is essential to survival. Funny how this seemingly timeless function of our being has been marginalized in recent memory, but watching what innovative sparks ignite when “old” engineers are given opportunities to share what they’ve internalized with “whiz kid” new ones and vice versa has thoroughly convinced us of its current (and ongoing) importance, necessity and power!
 
Well, suffice to say, the phrase has taken on an entirely new and enhanced (another cliché!) meaning after my reading of Simon Winchester’s Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded: August 27, 1883. Ostensibly about a massive volcanic eruption that literally shook the globe, Winchester’s book is more a tour de force of human connection. He writes extensively and with great historical accuracy about both the discovery, function and catastrophic effects of planetary plate tectonics, as well as the advent and importance of global telecommunications. What’s more interesting, and brought to light in relation to the title subject is just how the intersection of these two entities served to reinforce the human need to know… EVERYTHING ABOUT EACH OTHER!

Part of the planet’s fabric had been ripped asunder: And part of that same planet, the part     connected by cables [underwater, gutta percha wrapped for waterproof durability] and telegraphs and with access to newspapers, was now being informed of the event… Millions of people hitherto unknown to one another began to involve themselves, for the first time ever, in looking beyond their hitherto limited horizons of self; they started to inhabit a new and outward-gazing world that these storytelling agencies [emphasis mine], and this event they were relating, were unwittingly helping to create. (Winchester, 2003, pp. 194 - 195)

In reading the above paragraph, I was gratified to realize that in “stitching together” (groups, knowledge, ideas, generations) Meaningful Trainings serves as a modern-day link in the communication chain of history. Our very HUMAN desire to help folks improve their storytelling agency to create new (rewarding, innovative) stories truly does help make meaningful connections with, among and between each other!