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“ Unless someone like you cares a

whole awful lot, nothing is going

to get better. It’s not. ~ Dr. Suess from

The Lorax

A young Meera Trehan. Meera Trehan.
The Matching Game
by MEERA TREHAN

When you were younger, did you ever hear the Sesame uniting into one work? That makes it sound like the
Street song “One of These Things is Not Like the answer is creativity and unity.
Other?” Someone lists three things, two of which obvi- After all, not only does art bring different ideas together
ously go together and one that doesn’t, and you just have in one work, it also brings people together. One of the
to pick the odd one out. Let’s try it with the first three most amazing things about visiting a gallery, attending a
words that come to mind: Milk, Moth, and Butterfly. festival, or discussing a book is the experience of com-
It’s clear which two match, right? It’s obviously milk and ing together to share our response to art. Whether our
moth. Both words begin with the letter “M,” have four ideas are the same or different, sharing them helps us to
letters and the same consonant-vowel-consonant-con- connect and understand each other. So, creativity and
sonant pattern. Done. Wait – that wasn’t your thought? unity go hand in hand, too. At least there are only two
Oh, I bet you’re a fan of The Lorax, Dr. Seuss’s famous answers to this one. After all, diversity and unity can’t go
story about the environment. In that book, the prized together because well, they’re opposites, right? One is
Truffula trees “had the sweet smell of fresh butterfly about being different and the other is about joining to-
milk.” If that’s your perspective, then it makes perfect gether. But, diversity and unity are both essential to the
sense that butterfly and milk go together. So, maybe creative process. And both words together describe us,
there are two good answers. the people of the world: We have essential differences,
What’s that? You chose moth and butterfly? Well, but also an essential commonality. Our individual parts
I suppose both are winged insects that start their lives strengthen who we are as whole. Hmm, it looks like
as eggs, hatch into caterpillars, and emerge from their diversity and unity also make a great answer. So, it seems
pupas fully grown. Come to think of it, if you look at like all three of these things go together. In fact, once
it that way, they’re quite similar. Hmmm, maybe this you start looking, you see examples everywhere: from
game isn’t as straightforward as I thought. Let me try the performances and presentations at the 2015 World
again: Creativity, Diversity, and Unity. Creativity is Children’s Festival to the originator of the matching
the act of making something new and original. To do game song, Sesame Street, which had numerous co-pro-
that, you would have to imagine the art you’re creat- ductions in almost every continent. Closer to home, you
ing or the problem you’re solving in a unique way. That might notice that creativity, diversity, and unity perme-
requires bringing your own thoughts and experiences ates the holidays you celebrate and the music you hear.
to the table, since they are different from everyone Temple Grandin, an acclaimed author, autism activist,
else’s. Your diversity enables you to create something and inventor of stress-reducing tools for both people
that hasn’t been seen before. So, creativity and diversity and animals, once said, “The world needs all kinds of
are plainly the solution. Although, Steve Jobs (co- minds.” Our creativity and diversity enables us to make
founder of Apple Inc.) once said that, “Creativity is just this world a better place. 3
connecting things.” Connecting, joining, maybe even Meera Trehan is a lawyer and writer whose recent work was featured
in Chess Life for Kids.

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