“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”
~ Buckminster Fuller, American architect, systems theorist, author, designer, inventor, philosopher, and futurist. (Whew!) 1895-1983.
I have had an affinity for architecture and architectural work by-the-masters (nature included) most all my life. Long before I knew names or specific works, I’ve noticed shapes and configurations that appealed to my sense of wonder. (I know the docent of Canterbury Cathedral wondered where I’d wandered off to on the self-guided tour [he came looking for me], and the English Heritage volunteer at Dover Castle thought I’d never leave. ha!)
I have had similar experiences in NYC at St Patrick’s Cathedral, again in Madrid viewing Seville Cathedral (half is Moroccan architecture and the other half is traditional gothic. Literally. And amazing!) The arches and canyons in the desert southwest hold the same level of intrigue, as does the symbiotic relationships between land-and-shelter created by Frank Lloyd Wright. And, an ant-hill. Have you ever seen inside one? Fascinating!
Hmmm. Bridges hold an equal allure ~ be they covered bridges in the countryside, the towering towers of the Golden Gate, the l-o-n-g expanse of the causeway across Lake Pontchartrain, or the architectural marvel of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. Oooh ~ and how about that Chunnel! ….Or the Grand Canyon SkyWalk. Awe-inspiring, and the results of inspired awe in the Mind’s eye of each architect thereof.
So what does that all have to do with today’s posted quote by ‘Bucky” you may ask? To me, everything! To mishmash the old saying of “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” is…. “if it IS broke, stop trying to fix it again, and again, and again.” Start with new: new thoughts, new concepts, awareness of “what’s broke” and an envisioning of what would work. What needs to be ‘spanned’ or stand tall? How about a new model. A new paradigm shift. What does the existing landscape (internal as well as external) want? What does it require? What would create ease and flow and resonance? What would create integrity? What?
Create this new model ~ be it a tangible item ~ a physical reality ~ or a thought process. Think beyond the existing realities that no longer serve. Think deeper ~ and higher.
Be the architect of your life: the life you wish to live, the life you wish to share, the life-legacy you wish to leave behind. Your “maker’s mark.”
It may end up being something generations to come will ‘get lost in’ as they wander in awe.