“Human subtlety,” wrote da Vinci, “will never devise an invention more beautiful... than does nature.”
Yet da Vinci was as much a fan of experience as he was of nature, as if raw, unadulterated experience can, in itself, be considered an example of nature. Likewise, the inspiration that we can draw from experience.
Thanks to experience, we’re able to step from the sidelines and get up close, and discover the beauty of what’s there right in front of us. Not just second-hand or from a distance, but intimately - as a live audience and active participant.
Experience brings us closeness to a picture we're looking at. It permits our own senses - and intelligence - their place, so that rather than drowning in a mass of information, we can see the big picture.
How else but through respecting our own experience can we truly appreciate anything? Or see beauty? Or engage our own, natural intelligence? And not just in inspiring art, dance or original research, but also in our wisdom, joy and love?
In all these kinds of creativeness, nature is brought inside and made invited, and recognised as truly us. No wonder we feel so connected and revived when out and about in nature, or stood before an easel. Or immersed in a conversation that’s free-flowing and real.