I’m not religious, but I am human, so I need inspiration on a daily basis like anyone else. People are often a great sources of inspiration for me. That’s why I especially like to get out of the house and work from a cafe on most days. Facebook and Twitter are ok, but there are many other ways to be inspired. Try searching Google Images for “graffiti” plus any word. I’ll bet it will put a smile on your face. Or search for Indie music on Bandcamp. You can’t help but be inspired by the creative expressions people share.
Today, after more bad news from the middle east, I decided to search for inspiration for peace. First I turned to the same old stand bys such as The Onion, Twitter and Facebook. Those didn’t turn out so well, though I did have an extraordinary discussion with a friend of a friend on Facebook which led to some insights. But eventually I ended up on Google Images Search.
If you haven’t tried Google Images Search, you really must give it a shot. There are A LOT of images there. It’s very useful when looking for company logos or photos of someone from past events. But this time I was on a more sophisticated mission.
I first started by combining the search terms “peace” and “Hamas” … and then “peace” and “IDF“, but the images weren’t very peaceful. In fact they were mostly images of guns and violence. I suppose I should have expected that.
  |
Not deterred, I decided to try “peace” with “israeli” and then “peace” with “palestinian“. This time I found very different results. Most were drawings of doves, hands and images of hope mixed in with some less-than-helpful political cartoons. But overall, this was an encouraging sign. It supports the belief that we need to give the people of both areas a chance for peace since images that represent them seem more interested in a peaceful resolution than Hamas or the IDF.
   |
But the most interesting search result was when I replaced “peace” with “graffiti” and searched for graffiti with “israeli” and then again with “palestinian“. I found inspiring, yet confusing results which indicates to me that the simple drawings above do not express the full range of issues and emotions. There are many complex issues in this conflict which take hours or even days to begin to understand. If so, perhaps graffiti drawings can help us see differently. Or perhaps they can help us get more creative in our efforts for peace. Or maybe not. Either way, once again, my human friends (and Google Images) have provided me the inspiration I needed to get through the day.
    |
For more search examples, use Google Images to search for the word graffiti and any other word.
Thought for Food 