The policeman, a boy and creativity. A lesson that inspired me. (The Creativity Explorer. Episode 114)
This month’s story is a bit different.
I just want to share a beautiful story I heard. It’s extra beautiful because it’s true.
It’s a story about how a police officer, while on assignment one day in Sweden, in the 1970s, saw a boy crying outside a school. The police officer, his name was Björn, stopped his car and got out. He asked the boy why he was crying. The boy, who was black, replied: “They are teasing me because I look different.”
The policeman walked into the school and ordered the teachers to gather all the children in the school to an assembly. Then Björn held the black boys hand in his and told the other children: “If you ever tease my friend again you will have to deal with me.”
Fifteen years later the policeman was stopped in the street by a young man who said: “I was that boy whom you stood up to and called your friend. After that I was never bullied again and I became popular with the other kids and got lots of friends. It worked out great for me. Thank you.”
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That policeman was Morgan Freedude’s father. (The picture in this post is the actual picture from the event. The local newspaper just happened to be following Björn that day so the moment was caught on camera. The picture is now hanging framed in Morgan’s living room.)
Morgan inherited his father’s view of life and what it’s for. Morgan, too, is about living life by helping others. His current project, called #Föreningslivet is about building a platform to help people find the right club/association to join, based on the idea that if more people found their tribe who share the same interest/hobby more people would be happier with their lives.
Morgon calls his way of living life: “refining lives”.
It reminds me of a quote by Japanese entrepreneur Kazuo Inamori who once said: “The goal of life is to refine the soul.” Perhaps we can refine Mr Inamori’s quote to read: “The goal of life is to refine the soul, and a great way to refine it is to help others.”
The Swedish word för “refining” is “Förädla” – “För” is an intensifier and “Ädla” come from “Ädel”, meaning “nobel” and “honourable”.
Meeting with Morgan and hearing about his project, and also about his father’s story, made me reflect on the need for us to use our creativity for the good of others. It’s the nobel and honourable thing to do.
Is your organisation inspiring its people to user their creativity for good?
Fredrik Haren – The Creativity Explorer.
ps. 2022 is quickly coming. How are your plans for organising events (virtual and in-person) where a creativity session would benefit the audience? I would love to be part of the conversation on how we could take their creativity to the next level.
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