Alternative is only alternative until it becomes mainstream.
We are a naturally fearful species. We do fear really well. And one of the chief ways we manifest our fear is by recoiling from what’s new and different.
If you’re not an artist, a maker, or someone who has tried to do something original or innovative, then you may not know how terrifying it can be to do “new.” Or how judgmental plain ol’ ordinary folks can get just because something is different. But it’s no joke.
We are creatures driven by our stories. We see the world through our stories. We make sense of life by filtering it through our stories. We take shelter in our stories. Worst of all we often stop questioning our stories and get stuck in our stories.
And when someone comes along with a new story, a different story, have no doubt, that person will be feared, and judged, and ridiculed, or at the very least, ignored.
The Sharp family is full of creatives and artists and makers of all sorts. We understand the terror of being us. So we have a rule in the Sharp family and for the House Whisperer Design Studio—do not be quick to judge fresh new ideas. Creativity can and does change the world. That’s power. But when a creative thought, a new thought, a different kind of thought, is in it’s infancy, it’s fragile, vulnerable, terrified of coming out into the light of day. So that’s our rule. It’s a rule because we can just as easily forget it too and let fear shut us down.
Creativity and innovation need caretakers. They need nurseries and nurses to help them develop. Yes, most new ideas aren’t the best ideas. Rarely do we get it right the first time out of the gate. But if we don’t live in an environment where it’s ok to get it wrong, then we’ll never get out of the gate at all. And even new ideas that are destined to fall short of mass appeal (like geodesic domes) can spawn and ricochet and give birth to other ideas which will in fact, change the world.
Alternative is alternative only until it becomes mainstream and changes the world.
The home your living in right now was once an alternative style of construction.
There is no one way we’ll build houses in the future. Variety will be the spice of life.
Variety. Diversity. Alternative homes. Alternative lives. New ideas. New ways of doing things.
They’re hard, because they challenge our stories and stir up our fear.
But they’re exactly how the world moves forward.
Being open to change will change you.
Being open to change is one of the best ways to build yourself a beautiful life.