• Video

Cultural Inventions to Hold Tension Creatively

From the Healing the Heart of Democracy Discussion Guide // In the video, Parker speaks of language, education, and various forms of art as among the “cultural inventions” designed to help us learn to hold tension in life-giving ways. Can you identify ways in which one or more of these cultural inventions have helped you develop this capacity?

This video is a part of the Healing the Heart of Democracy Discussion Guide and can be found with more videos and resources in our “Healing the Heart of Democracy Hub.” You can explore the hub, download the guide, and find all of the videos along with additional resources here.

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Everyday life brings divergent demands of many sorts. These “provoke” our abundant inner supplies of “love, beauty, goodness, and truth,” powers that can transform tension from a destructive force into creative energy—if we hold tension long enough to let it open our hearts so they can work their alchemy. (72)

Q. In the video, Parker speaks of language, education, and various forms of art as among the “cultural inventions” designed to help us learn to hold tension in life-giving ways. Can you identify ways in which one or more of these cultural inventions have helped you develop this capacity?