“No one really starts anything new, Mrs. Nemur. Everyone builds on another man’s failures. There is nothing really original in science. What each man contributes to the sum of knowledge is what counts.”

-Daniel Keyes, Flowers for Algernon

With a dejected look on her face, my daughter started putting away her markers and colored pencils.

“Dad, none of my ideas are original. Someone has already thought of all my stories.”

And then we had an unexpectedly deep conversation about inspiration…about integrating our own experiences and ideas…about drawing from the works of others to create our own unique stories that will, inevitably, be shaped by our influences. And the gleam returned to her eyes as she proceeded to ebulliently describe her newest adventure, which is based on the dynamic fusion of a book she had been reading and a dream she had last Tuesday night!

We’re all building castles in the sand. In the blink of an eye, my sandcastle could be swallowed up by the tide, never to be remembered, vanishing as if it had never existed. And our sandcastles will often look quite similar to others on the beach. But it is a privilege to create, and as we build, we can hopefully inspire one another. And hopefully our amateurish attempts can reflect the handiwork of the Master Builder. And maybe, just maybe, we can even collaborate to construct a remarkable edifice before the tide rolls in and the Creator whisks us away to the eternal celestial shore

Ecclesiastes 2:24-26