I mentioned the link between creativity and time in the last post and it is also one of our root foundations.
Time is a fairly significant factor in anger. We can be angry if we perceive that we have not enough time, or we have run out of time, or other people are putting pressure on us to move too quickly, or someone gets in our way, slowing us down when we are trying to do something.
Even in the case of the mini-crisis in the kitchen in the Chapter on Systems Theory when Dad was getting the children to school, time pressure was one possible cause of his anger. And think of how irritated we get if the traffic light goes red when we are in a hurry, not to mention the car in front of us not moving off quickly enough.
But there are other aspects worth noting about time!
No other action, in my opinion, is as helpful in building relationships (particularly in their early stages) than displaying flexibility with respect to availability of time [1].
If we perceive that no-one ever had time for us we really appreciate time given to us when we are under pressure.
And given that someone in a family in our Focus Group may be angry at many things – time is a very useful tool in our work reducing anger.
Just as importantly, it also facilitates the education of the worker. It opens up, in real-time, a path to the individual’s family and all the difficulties that the family (probably) has but maybe have never trusted anyone enough to be open about.
Outreach work, particularly that which includes street-work, is a very good example of creativity-in-action. It facilitates/enables the building of relationships with people who have lost or are losing contact with mainstream society. It is also a statement about how we want to use our time.
It also increases the chances that we and our organisation will have relevance in someone’s life. This is particularly true at between-crisis times when so much good work can be done, as people may be more receptive to new thinking when not under pressure.
And, of course, outreach work enhances the cultural matching described in the previous Chapter. It is a risk, as rejection is always a possibility, but it is a risk well worth taking.
Another enhancer of creativity, and thinking outside the box, is democracy in our organisation, where we feel heard, have a genuine, felt, sense of belonging and where our opinions in respect of our own healing are taken seriously.
Streetwork, or other forms of encounter on someone else’s turf, where people feel safe to express spontaneous views, fosters democracy.
And true democracy, where we really feel heard and get a sense that we have power takes time.
[1]. Alice Leahy the redoubtable campaigner for the homeless wrote/edited a very enjoyable book entitled Wasting Time with People.