3: capable of being put to use or account: useful
At lunch yesterday, I mentioned that I almost minored in Math, due to pressure to at least have a "practical" minor if I was going to major in Art History. A few nights ago, I heard that a family member had decided to give up trying to make a living dancing and was researching other careers. A few weeks ago, a friend said in a disparaging tone that her brother-in-law was only interested in making "art for art's sake." These brief exchanges made me start thinking about the value of practicality.
Practicality is not a trait I am emphasizing in raising my daughters. Independence, creativity, respect, kindness, encouraging others and being who God made them to be - Yes. Practicality - No. At the most basic level this is because I'm not sure practicality and creativity can coexist. You can't really paint, draw, write or sculpt from your core creativity if you are focused on what might sell, what others might want and what is useful.
Right now, A would tell you she wants to be a professional ballet dancer when she grows up. I had a family member say to me, "Well, a lot of eight year old girls want to be dancers. She'll grow out of it." Thankfully, A did not hear any of this exchange. I don't want any of my daughters to "grow out of" their desire to be something unique, even if it means a challenging career path. There is plenty of time for them to decide to be practical. If they love something enough, then working hard or struggling to make ends meet will be worth it. I would much rather see them pursue their dreams and ultimately give up their dream for practical reasons than never attempt to live their dream because it's not practical.
I think practicality is a much more secular than Biblical concept. I can't think of many instances in the Bible where people were discouraged from doing something extraordinary because it wasn't practical. Instead, we see ordinary people do extraordinary things with the gifts God has given them. Who knows how my daughters will use their gifts? They may choose stable, predictable careers that provide reliably, or even abundantly, for themselves and their families. Or they may move from one project to another to use their gifts in varied ways that aren't necessarily fiscally valued by our world. Either way, I hope they walk the path God has for them and don't let practicality drive their decision.
I'll close by admitting that as I wrote this post, it occurred to me that I'm a bit of a hypocrite. I feel such pressure to write a book, yet I lack the courage to try - or even start. I rationalize this fear by reminding myself that there are more practical uses for my time than writing. If I truly want my children to follow where they are led, then I need to do a better job of being an example.
1 comment:
I very, very respectfully completely disagree. Of course, I am biased, practicality is a huge part of who I am, I think from nature and nurture. I probably often err on the side of being too practical and giving up chasing some things which are important to me, but I really love and value my practicality and will teach it to my children. I don't think practicality and creativity are mutually exclusive; I think they are very compatible. I value my practicality because it has led me to be creative in ways I didn't expect. When I was young, it really grated on my nerves when I would run into a problem and my infinitely practical mother would immediately start generating at least 10 options of ways to approach solving that problem. However, as an adult, I am so happy to have had that example, because now I have that ability and it has served me very well. It helps me generate creative ideas when things seem impossible. Because, I know practically, nothing is really impossible if you put your mind to it and think about all different unique ways to solve a problem. (Part of this could be contributed to my stubbornness as well.) I would encourage you to consider that teaching practicality in a good way to your girls might be very beneficial to them. For example, if A decides she wants to be a professional dancer and have more financial benefits than this career would usually offer, she can use her practical side to brainstorm about ways to achieve both goals.
I also believe my practical side has value in and of itself. It has helped me to accept and love parts of myself and other people because, practically, we are all doing the best we can. At times I have disliked parts of myself for a long time, and then my practical side said, “Hey, this is kind of stupid? Why are you beating up on yourself so much and wasting emotional energy on something so silly? That’s not very practical.”
Here’s a couple of quotes I found that sum up both points:
“Today's practicality is often no more than the accepted form of yesterday's theory.”
--Kenneth L. Pike
“My practicality consists in this, in the knowledge that if you beat your head against the wall it is your head which breaks and not the wall - that is my strength, my only strength.”
--Antonio Gramsci
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