robyn jay

In a culture overrun with commercialism and gift one-upmanship, its tempting to react by simply not engaging. But was does this mean for kids?

I grew up in a home where creative pursuits were both encouraged and valued. As the last child at home and living out of town I was never bored. When I wasn’t roaming rocks and gullies or inhabiting the secret nooks of our shed, I was creating. Paper craft, painting, sewing, clay, puppets, drawing, sculpture projects were resourced and guided. The best times were when I worked alongside my mother.

My products, however humble, were admired and valued. There was never a suggestion that gift cards would be purchased. ‘Works of art’ were the most valued gifts, given pride of place.

The act of gift giving is a precious thing; an opportunity to thank and an opportunity to share something of ourselves. For children its about reflection and humility; taking time to consider another and give time to create something that is lovingly wrapped and delivered. Its about connection and relationship.

As adults we can encourage this by valuing hand crafted produce above factory produced, by appreciating the efforts of kids as they develop the self-confidence to create that many adults lack, and by providing the time, resources and guidance for kids to stop consuming and take time to put themselves in the shoes of others.

It’s been an unproductive year for me blogging-wise. I’m not really sure what caused my lack of inspiration. Perhaps time needed to rethink my position and direction after a couple of soul-destroying years career-wise. Michele Martin would perhaps tell me that my reflection could have more productive had it been shared so I’ll do my best to summarise my years thoughts in coming posts.

But first of all I’m biting the bullet and moving any worthwhile content from my wikispace over to this site. I’ve been talking about it for a year but being a long-term wikispace user have been hesitant to actually make the change. Essentially my wiki has been a personal portfolio space and while the wiki format has meant easy editing etc, it has never really been used as a collaborative space for multiple authors so there’s little point in using a wiki platform. Having everything together in one place has its appeal.

So once the move is complete my aim is a post a week (to be realistic). Michele has inspired me to undertake a more structured approach to my personal reflection and I’m looking forward to participating in one of her Career Clarity Camps in January 2012. I can’t think of a better way to kick the new year off.

[CC FlickR image by koshyk]