What is galumphing?
"Anthropologists have found galumphing to be one of the prime talents that characterizes higher life forms. Galumphing is the immaculately rambunctious and seemingly inexhaustible play—ever apparent in puppies, kittens . . . also in young communities and civilizations. Galumphing is the seemingly useless elaboration and ornamentation of activity. It is profligate, excessive, exaggerated, uneconomical. We galumph when we hop instead of walk, when we take the scenic route . . . when we play a game whose rules demand a limitation of our powers.
This is what we call having technique to burn—having more powerful and flexible means available to use than we need in any given situation. A would-be artist may have the most profound visions, feelings, and insights, but without skill there is no art. The requisite variety that opens up our expressive possibilities comes from practice, play, exercise, exploration, experiment. The effects of nonpractice (or of insufficiently risky practice) are rigidity of heart and body, and an ever-shrinking compass of available variety."
—Stephen Nachmanovitch, Free Play
Design requires galumphing. In order to get to a great idea you have to imagine exagerrate and then step back and refine the idea with technical details. But without the vision and the daring risk dramatic change won't occur.Unfortunately, as we age we forget how to galumph and fear sets in and we get set in our ways.
Try Galumphing today. Pick three random items (that you love and can lift) from different rooms and imagine using them together in a different space and in a different way from how you use them today..... see how that little bit of change can spark new energy and creativity.
Love it, Melinda....think I'll galumph today
ReplyDelete