Summer vacation will be over in another 2 to 3 weeks. How has it been so far? Have you been able to relax, rest, and refresh? Have you been able to slow down and take it easy during this oppressively hot summertime? If your answer is no to both questions, you have wasted this summertime so far. But thank God there is still time for you to make up the loss before life resumes its normal pace comes September.
Many of my generation passionately looked forward to the summer breaks when we were in school. We enjoyed sleeping in, wasting time with friends, sharing our wild and not-so-wild dreams, going on day or short trips, acquiring some life skills of interest, picking up a new language, or even securing a summer job for pocket money and life experience.
We have learned that not a few children in Hong Kong have developed phobias related to the summer break. Instead of resting, they find themselves busier, attending different learning programs than during the regular school year. Instead of having space to fool around and relax, they find themselves enrolled in enrichment programs, summer exercises, and for some, stressful family trips. Sadly, there are children who have nothing of interest to do, and they are bored to tears. Of course, some are enjoying their summer, and they are indeed the lucky ones.
We know that allowing space for growth and development is very important. Otherwise, excessive planning may result in stifling creativity. While imagination is the core engine of artistic creativity, space is what it takes for artists to imagine how their art can evolve. In fact, empty space is crucial in visual art so that viewers can better appreciate the overall composition. Incidentally, space and imagination are both required for technological development, while artistic presentation is considered essential for modern marketing.
Unfortunately, many of us tend to feel uncomfortable with undefined space, for it might generate uncertainties beyond our control. In today’s culture of control management, uncertainty is seen as not so desirable. Everything should be well managed in order to minimize uncertainties and subsequent damages. The assumption, of course, is that development should go more or less as planned, and it should also be reasonably predictable and measurable with key performance indicators.
But can this really be the case in human development, especially with children whose potential is enormous for development? Can we or should we attempt to manipulate every aspect of human development according to indicators and planned scenarios? If so, it would amount to a serious assault on human dignity, as every human person is created uniquely in God’s own image and with God’s love. Creation by God is both a loving and divine act.
Creativity is better understood as God’s gift for us to extend God’s beautiful creativity through our talents and gifts. The ultimate purpose is to lead others to that awesome Source of beauty and creation. We can expect a more humane, aesthetically pleasing, and better-for-living world if we allow space and uncertainties for discerned development. Not any laissez-faire approach but allowance with respectful guidance and engaging in dialogue with them.
There is no guarantee of success or absence of mistakes made in our allowances for uncertainties and creativity. However, we can reasonably expect a positive development with self-corrective capacity, as long as our children and youth are given space to learn from their successes and failures. We should understand that there can be no creativity if there is little allowance for mistakes or failures.
The same approach can be extended to the public domain. When a certain sector or community is asked to make changes, both the authority and the general public must empower the change agents with reachable expectations, paired with ample allowances for mistakes, patience, and understanding. Should we always use finger-pointing and demand punitive measures, who would dare to take risks and be creative? This would lead to cautious and conservative implementations only. Is that really what we want?
Reflections of Cardinal Stephen Chow Sau-yan of Hong Kong. This was first published in the diocesan weekly Sunday Examiner on August 2, 2024.
