Thursday Traffic | 18 February

Considering that I spent last Thursday snowed in at my house, it was almost a relief to be going anywhere this morning. This brings me to my thought for this Thursday Traffic. Everyone always wants to get out of working. I know that they have their reasons—some hate their jobs, others hate their coworkers, some just hate the time they have to work—but it's interesting to see how people handle having "nothing" to do.

The two blizzards that passed across the East Coast have shown that people do not handle idleness well. Luckily, many kept their power, so they had access to all of their gadgets—cell phones, televisions, game consoles, laptops, computers, ovens, you name yet. No one had to go anywhere (it was actually encouraged that you didn't). What happened? People lost their minds. They needed to get outside. They had to "do" something. Doesn't it make you wonder how people now would fare in earlier days. Back in the day, the only thing that kept most people going was their imagination. What does that say about people today? Are they unimaginative? Yes, to a certain degree. People write wonderful books and the public awaits the movies instead of enjoying the written version for themselves. Despite having the materials to make something, most people would rather have other "creative" people handle the task.

You might say, "Well, you are obviously the 'creative' type." I have to ask what defines creative. People are creative in many ways. It's imagination that I wonder about. Every time I mention that I'm a graphic designer, people often say, "Wow, I can't even draw a stick figure." Is art (or design for that matter) confined to the ability to draw a stick figure? Is that some kind of test? Why can't people look past the stick figure and figure something out for themselves? So, maybe people are glad to be heading to work now that they have spent enough time by themselves—or with other people—stuck at home. Maybe they will take a moment to look and realize that they are capable of more than stick figures. Either way, time is so fleeting. Despite snow, disaster or death, it continues to move forward. Perhaps we will all decide to think of more imaginative ways in which to spend it.

Image via flickr/tod.ragsdale