don Giuseppe Nespeca
Giuseppe Nespeca è architetto e sacerdote. Cultore della Sacra scrittura è autore della raccolta "Due Fuochi due Vie - Religione e Fede, Vangeli e Tao"; coautore del libro "Dialogo e Solstizio".
CREATIVE PROCESS, ordinary and extraordinary: genius; talent; intelligence; receptivity; immersion and general sensitivity; vital environment (by Francesco Giovannozzi, psychologist and psychotherapist)
A few days ago, I visited the workshop of a craftsman in the travertine area and was enthralled by this gentleman's workmanship. He created, in my opinion, small masterpieces.
Of course, there are many beautiful and great things in the world in all fields: from great works, to painting, to poetry, to scientific discoveries. It is superfluous to list them. They are known, they are admired - and will be in the future.
But often in our everyday life we can find, discover small works produced, created by unknown people. The Treccani dictionary defines creativity as 'creative virtue', the ability to create with intellect, imagination, inventiveness.
On this occasion, I went to dust off an old book of mine by Silvano Arieti - 'Creatività sintesi magica' - Il pensiero scientifico editore. This psychiatrist and psychoanalyst gives a beautiful definition: 'Creativity, a human prerogative, can be seen as the humble human counterpart of divine creation' (p. 3). While the Creator moulded all things from nothing, human creativity uses what already exists to change it.
The author then speaks of ordinary creativity, and extraordinary creativity. It is about different levels of creativity, not the creativity of great works or of great men of letters [think of the Divine Comedy or the great monuments, the wonders of the world] but the small works of us ordinary men who sometimes manage to mould what we have into something stupendous.
We improve our self-confidence, we feel satisfaction, we believe in ourselves more - and this motivates us to work better. Arieti goes on to say that ordinary creativity must not make us forget and neglect extraordinary creativity. While 'the ordinary raises man's morale and eliminates or diminishes neurosis, the extraordinary is responsible for mankind's great achievements and social progress' (p. 11).
Later in the book, Arieti quotes Nathaniel Hirsh, who in his 1931 work 'Genius and Creative Intelligence' examined the difference between talent and genius.
He wrote (pp. 288-289): '[...] the genius creates, the man of talent determines improvements; the genius intuits, the man of talent analyses and explores: the genius aspires, the purpose of his life is creativity; the man of talent is animated by ambition and the purpose of his life is power; the genius is always a stranger in a strange land; men of talent are those for whom the earth is a paradise and social adaptation a natural vocation'.
Personally, I have wondered whether creativity, be it big or small, is related to intelligence. Many authors have made studies in this sense. The author claims that there is still no consensus. It seems, however, that highly intelligent people are not necessarily creative. A high IQ can limit inwardness by the presence of strong self-criticism.
Getzel and Jackson studied two groups of children: one group with high intelligence but no corresponding IQ and the other group with high creativity but no corresponding IQ. Comparing the results despite a difference in the IQ scores of the two groups, there was no measurable difference in academic performance.
Other authors have tried to study the psychological qualities of creative people.
According to Mary Henle's studies, a decisive property is receptivity: that is to say, rather than looking for ideas, we must be careful to receive them.
Another peculiarity is the 'immersion' in the material - to get more information, but also to know the difficulties.
For Guilford, a general sensitivity to things is also important.
Some societies fostered creativity, while others inhibited it. Although the creative process is an intrapsychic phenomenon, it is largely facilitated by a suitable environment.
I remember when I was a student I was amazed after a lecture where the lecturer stated that a person with qualities or genius, if he or she did not have fertile ground, would hardly emerge. I was convinced that a person of genius emerged in any case.
Using an allegory, a beautiful flower can grow well if it is born in inaccessible soil and lacks the necessary care, and if it does, who knows if anyone will notice its splendour.
Francesco Giovannozzi psychologist-psychotherapist
Man is involved in penance in his totality of body and spirit: the man who has a body in need of food and rest and the man who thinks, plans and prays; the man who appropriates and feeds on things and the man who makes a gift of them; the man who tends to the possession and enjoyment of goods and the man who feels the need for solidarity that binds him to all other men [CEI pastoral note]
Nella penitenza è coinvolto l'uomo nella sua totalità di corpo e di spirito: l'uomo che ha un corpo bisognoso di cibo e di riposo e l'uomo che pensa, progetta e prega; l'uomo che si appropria e si nutre delle cose e l'uomo che fa dono di esse; l'uomo che tende al possesso e al godimento dei beni e l'uomo che avverte l'esigenza di solidarietà che lo lega a tutti gli altri uomini [nota pastorale CEI]
The Cross is the sign of the deepest humiliation of Christ. In the eyes of the people of that time it was the sign of an infamous death. Free men could not be punished with such a death, only slaves, Christ willingly accepts this death, death on the Cross. Yet this death becomes the beginning of the Resurrection. In the Resurrection the crucified Servant of Yahweh is lifted up: he is lifted up before the whole of creation (Pope John Paul II)
La croce è il segno della più profonda umiliazione di Cristo. Agli occhi del popolo di quel tempo costituiva il segno di una morte infamante. Solo gli schiavi potevano essere puniti con una morte simile, non gli uomini liberi. Cristo, invece, accetta volentieri questa morte, la morte sulla croce. Eppure questa morte diviene il principio della risurrezione. Nella risurrezione il servo crocifisso di Jahvè viene innalzato: egli viene innalzato su tutto il creato (Papa Giovanni Paolo II)
St John Chrysostom urged: “Embellish your house with modesty and humility with the practice of prayer. Make your dwelling place shine with the light of justice; adorn its walls with good works, like a lustre of pure gold, and replace walls and precious stones with faith and supernatural magnanimity, putting prayer above all other things, high up in the gables, to give the whole complex decorum. You will thus prepare a worthy dwelling place for the Lord, you will welcome him in a splendid palace. He will grant you to transform your soul into a temple of his presence” (Pope Benedict)
San Giovanni Crisostomo esorta: “Abbellisci la tua casa di modestia e umiltà con la pratica della preghiera. Rendi splendida la tua abitazione con la luce della giustizia; orna le sue pareti con le opere buone come di una patina di oro puro e al posto dei muri e delle pietre preziose colloca la fede e la soprannaturale magnanimità, ponendo sopra ogni cosa, in alto sul fastigio, la preghiera a decoro di tutto il complesso. Così prepari per il Signore una degna dimora, così lo accogli in splendida reggia. Egli ti concederà di trasformare la tua anima in tempio della sua presenza” (Papa Benedetto)
Only in this friendship are the doors of life opened wide. Only in this friendship is the great potential of human existence truly revealed. Only in this friendship do we experience beauty and liberation (Pope Benedict)
Solo in quest’amicizia si spalancano le porte della vita. Solo in quest’amicizia si dischiudono realmente le grandi potenzialità della condizione umana. Solo in quest’amicizia noi sperimentiamo ciò che è bello e ciò che libera (Papa Benedetto)
A faith without giving, a faith without gratuitousness is an incomplete faith. It is a weak faith, a faith that is ill. We could compare it to rich and nourishing food that nonetheless lacks flavour, or a more or less well-played game, but without a goal (Pope Francis)
Una fede senza dono, una fede senza gratuità è una fede incompleta (Papa Francesco)
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