Can good design inspire creative solutions?
Can imagery change our thinking?
And what possibly could Marcus Aurelius
have to do with any of it?
When I first saw this inspired holiday card I was struck not only by the sleek and clever design reversal, but also by how well it integrated two often confused and disparate religious celebrations. It didn’t merge the holidays but instead literally made room for each to stand.
When I meet with clients they are disagreeing about many things- their worldviews and values are sometimes front and center for them, but more often than not it’s their daily irritations that manifest in more mundane ways. People are complex and can for example, feel simultaneously angry, guilty and grateful. Understanding and acknowledging component parts, both those initially presented as disagreements and underlying issues, are what often lead to settlement. How can we best come to see, to hear, to understand?
When mediating I often ask couples to place photos of their children on the table so that throughout their discussions they never lose sight of the most important players (and those not otherwise in the room). I’ve found that the act of looking at their children creates a difference in their commitment to work toward an amicable resolution. Images and emotions are linked in the brain (for instance vision can instill fear or joy in that by processing what we see with the occipital lobe, our emotions are engaged through the amygdala) and images can be used to reinforce and build understanding.
Words of course matter, but we’re also hardwired to respond to imagery, scents, tastes and textures. In Roman emperor and philosopher Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations he wrote eloquently about living in the moment and embracing the nuances and complexities in the one life we get to live. It seems only logical that when we have multiple ways to take in and understand information that we use them all to our best advantage. As Mary Oliver concluded in her beautiful poem The Summer Day:
“Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?”
