On reaching your potential

March 6, 2011

I was traveling back from an AIGA board meeting in New York today, and sat next to a very interesting woman on the airplane. A literature and ethics professor at a university in Monterrey, Mexico (I’m sorry, but I don’t recall the name of the school), she talked about her thesis on the philosopher Alfonso López Quintás. The thesis is about Quintás’ philosophy on objects – that objects can not reach their full potential until they interact with a human.

There’s something beautiful in the thought that objects need people to give them life; that a pencil is just untapped potential when sitting on a desk, but fulfills it’s entire purpose when picked up.

I’ve been wrestling with some big concepts with week, and this is just what my tired brain needed to get spinning off in the right direction.

She also inspired me to start journaling and blogging again, which I haven’t felt like doing since I lost my Aunt. So, I owe her a big “thank you” all-around.