The Souls of people, on their way to Earth-life, pass through a room full of Lights; Each takes a Taper (candle), often only a spark, to guide it in the dim country of this world. But some souls of rare fortune, are detained longer and have time to grab a handful of candles, which they weave into a Torch. These are the Torch-Bearers of humanity, its Poets, Seers, and Saints, who lead and lift the race out of darkness, towards the Light. They are the Lawgivers and the Saviors, the Light-bringers, Way-showers and Truth-tellers, and without them, Humanity would Lose its way in the Dark…
This quotation is attributed to Plato, the namesake of our favorite non-toxic modeling compound and one of the fathers of western philosophy. I’m not going to research the likelihood of whether or not he actually said it, of course, but it’s a fantastic meditation on why some people come into the world to change it, rather than be changed by it.
Maybe this is why Play-Doh, Legos, K’Nex, Lincoln Logs, Erector Sets, and all sorts of other toys are so wildly appealing to young children. They live in a world created for them by adults and others. Toys that allow us to create allow us to create our own reality, and even if what little kids create doesn’t look like…anything, it’s still an expression of inherent creativity and the desire to make the world in our own image.
These days, it’s not practical for us to build with children’s toys – toys can’t (necessarily) save the world. Instead, we create dazzling print and video campaigns that stir the heart. We develop and distribute inexpensive medications to treat preventable diseases. We write amazing speeches and stories that change the ways people see their world. We construct green technologies that give as much back to the earth as they take from it. And in so doing, we help humanity find its way in the dark.
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