If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well. --Martin Luther King, Jr. This quote struck a chord because I have experienced a prejudice in people's attitudes towards other people's careers that has always disturbed me. If the other person's career is one that they deem "creative" or "important," they give these people a respect that they don't always deserve. And if another's career is not deemed creative or important, well, they just have a job that is judged as not being very interesting. I find this weird, because all careers or jobs have an element of creativity in them. When I was a teacher, unmarried, I ran into an unexpected reaction when dating. When I told a man I was dating that I was an English teacher, they would quite often become uncomfortable and act as if I was grading everything that they said. They would say uneasily, "English was never my best class." We stopped being equals who were just getting to know each other. They gave me some sort of status that I don't believe I deserved, and that I'm sure many other teachers don't deserve. In my career, I've encountered quite a few teachers who would do more good and less harm if they were sweeping streets. After a while, I didn't tell new acquaintances that I was a teacher. It was easier. When I became managing editor of a magazine, I again encountered people feeling inferior because of what I did for a living. New acquaintances gushed over my creativity and said things like, "I could never do that." It made me feel uncomfortable, and lead me to realize that there is a belief that people who do things in the arts are somehow "better" than anyone else. When I left the magazine to work in my husband's art studio, it was OK with some of these people, because I was still in the arts, but there were those who had been "sucking up" (that is the correct phrase) to me because I was an Editor, who made it clear that I had taken a step down. It was confusing at the time because I have never pursued a career because of the status it would confer on me, but because I was interested in what I would do on the job. I believe that everyone has gifts and talents. Everyone. The world needs all of these gifts and talents. How would writers write if we didn't have people who make the paper or computers that they write on? I have seen people in retail sales who are artists. They know all about what they are selling, make an effort to understand your needs and then help you with them. They make having to buy something new -- especially when it's a large purchase -- a smooth experience in which you learn something about what you are buying. My dentist is an artist at what she does. I am grateful that she chose to become a dentist. As a single women, there are quite a few things that I can't do myself, but I have found a handyman who is really creative. Whenever I present a problem to Pete, he always comes up with a solution that is better than what I thought of. In our society, being a homemaker no longer has any status, but I have known people who are masters at it. Martha Stewart took her love of the art of homemaking and turned it into an empire, and there are still women who see honor in being a homemaker -- mostly of another generation -- and who create warm, comfortable, beautiful places for their families. To me, it is not what you do, it is how you approach it, what you bring to it, and if you love it. All creative people are not writers, movie makers, song writers, performers, or painters. Some creative people do things that our society judges as being mundane, but I have seen these people bring a verve and flair to what they do that makes it a work of art. I have seen people whom I would judge as being creative in just about any field you can think of. Creativity is all about attitude.
