Beauty Will Save the World! – Why Was Dostoevsky Right?

I must confess that for a long time, I struggled with creative blocks. Back when I first lived abroad in Paris at the age of twenty-one, I had the chance to look at myself from a distance. Freed from the usual role I had become so accustomed to playing in my family since childhood, I realized that my heart wanted to take a different path than the one that had been laid out in front of me. My creativity started to slowly, slowly seep out of me. I won't say it was easy, nor that it was a straight path that led me to finally allow myself to express everything within me, without any filters, but the immense fatigue was worth it.

I've heard from many people that they get stuck in their creative endeavors, even when they start off well. Some get bogged down after writing a few quick, intriguing pages, others leave a graphic half-finished, and yet others abandon their flower bed planting every year or give up on their idea to stage “A Midsummer Night's Dream” at their child’s school because, despite their initial enthusiasm, it seems too daunting.

Each of these stillborn projects is another nail in the coffin of our creativity, and if we're not careful, we can reach a point where we don't even entertain the idea of creating in our minds anymore. This is a great loss, not just for the creator but for everyone else as well.

Those who know me well are aware of how much I admire and appreciate human creativity. I marvel at beautiful buildings, detail-rich paintings and tapestries, the airy movements of dancers, a beautifully designed garden, a cool, refurbished metal car model, a creatively assembled Lego sculpture, a well-written book, a lovingly crocheted scarf, pretty much everything that radiates genuine, heartfelt creativity. I feel these creations, however mundane they may seem, beautify and add something special to our everyday lives, coloring life with excitement and bringing joy to everyone who truly sees and appreciates them.

In his work “The Idiot,” Dostoevsky has one of his characters utter the phrase, “Beauty will save the world!” At a superficial level, this statement might even seem foolish – after all, what has beauty done so far, what conflicts has it resolved, what gun has it stopped from firing a fatal bullet? But I believe this sentence means much more than a simple, naïve declaration.

When we think about how much we love walking in old towns, meandering among buildings adorned with Ionian and Corinthian columns, how much we admire Greek statues, how a detailed Asian carved wooden panel or a beautiful Persian rug impresses us, the admiration we feel upon seeing an elegantly shaped car or a precisely assembled, complex wristwatch, the gratitude when witnessing a sunset blazing with a thousand colors by the sea, how cheerful we become hearing a cute baby's laughter or the respect we feel seeing a smart, flawlessly agile dog, we begin to understand Dostoevsky's words. The feelings that broadly interpreted beauty, elegance, and precision evoke in us lift us up. They raise our energy levels. It's easy to see that those who enjoy artistic creations, appreciate the beauty of systems designed by engineers or well constructed buildings, and admire the uniqueness of a living being or the intricacy of an object, don't want to destroy these things. Instead, the more they see and appreciate in the world, the more gratitude, admiration, and curiosity fill their lives. In this state, people are not inclined to destroy. Rather, they are motivated to build, to create. That's why I value genuine creativity so much and strive to help those seeking their own voice, those who want to clear the blocks from their path of creative self-expression, using my own experiences.

We need more creative people, we need more opportunities to stop and spend time among beautiful buildings, objects, and the inspiring people who create them. As Bert Hellinger, the father of family constellation said, the perpetrator wouldn't have been capable of committing the atrocity on another person or creature if they had looked deeply into their eyes and seen the unique, irreplaceable being that they truly are. And through creativity, we see the creator, for true creativity comes from the heart and reaches the heart of another. Such a connection makes destruction impossible. So, I hope that Dostoevsky is right, and that everyone finds their area where they can create freely. Let's create magic, take time to admire beautiful things and let’s save the world together!

– Eszter

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