There are people who, despite their experiences and intelligence and kind-heartedness, they sincerely are lost right now in this time. They do not know; they did not realize. A little bit of patience to get everyone up to speed is necessary, even on the part of those with… I’ve heard people say, ‘It’s not up to black people to help others get up to speed.’ It might not be, but I’m going to try that anyway because it’s necessary. - Steve Gordon

There are no easy answers right now. No easy answers to the pandemic, no easy answers to the massive amount of lost jobs or to ending centuries or racist systems, but as Creative Mornings Omaha’s “mom,” if you will, I challenge there are easy answers to showing kindness, compassion and empathy. Creatives seem uniquely built for that. - Kim Sellmeyer

It’s important that we remember, as a community, that we’re still going home. We’re still headed to that better place where we all accept each other, where we all value each other, where we don’t have to be afraid of the things that make us different. And while we might not have that reality today, in the form that we want it, that doesn’t mean we can stop hoping. Herbie Thompson

During this time, you’re focusing on your senses to help you connect with your surroundings and be truly present in the present moment. So, here’s the thing, our culture is a ‘doing’ culture and an active culture, and nature therapy is a receiving practice. It’s not about a doing activity, it about receiving, receiving the healing benefits of nature.

When we think about transformational change – when we think about what’s missing – it’s interesting what you can accomplish if you execute a plan to realize a thing that fits into the gap that exists.

I was able to settle into my purpose and I discovered my “only-ness.’ My purpose is that spot only I can stand in because of my experience, my abilities and my story. - Naomi

Here’s my ask of you today – pick a problem, any problem and start planning how to solve it. You’re like, ‘Yeah, okay… sounds big, right?’ But look at it this way – until you find something that gets you riled up enough to do something about it, why are you here? Trust me, there’s plenty of mess to choose from – choose one. - Candi

As a cartoonist, even though I am drawing in silence, my world is filled with noise. It’s all this noise coming in through the media – TV news, radio news, Internet video pop-ups. It can all be very helpful, but it’s also very, very distracting.

‘Love Letter’ is about being tired of being negative and just wanting to be confident and knowing that it’s okay to be confident. When I sing the words, I am reminding myself and I am reminding other people that it’s okay to want to love yourself and be confident in yourself, no matter what.

To simply put it, I love connecting people to their purpose. Whether you’re a recording artist or an entrepreneur or you’re a creative, I like talking to you, figuring out what it is that you’re into and how I help you connect that with the world or with other people to further help you get that out there.

Over and over again, I said, ‘I can’t.’ ‘I can’t make change.’ ‘I’m not good enough.’ But then I changed the ‘can’t’ to ‘I can’t not do something.’ I have to do it. I have to do something.

I’ll break down “Hustle like an Immigrant” into five different steps. One is about what’s your ‘why’ – why are you doing what you’re doing? Two is your goal – do you have a goal that has been formed by your why? Three, do you have the discipline to see your goals through? Four – perseverance. Hardship is going to come, obstacles are going to come your way, can you get through those? Five, I call it ‘the blank check.’ Are you a risk taker, are you willing, at any given point, to sacrifice who you are for what you can ultimately become?

Wonder is the key to the door beyond which lies awe. And ego is that door, and it’s either open or it’s closed.

For me, there was just this spark inside me and it became so crystal clear that saving endangered species is all about people; it’s about community-based education and nobody was doing it. I knew this was my truth.

Certainly, there are a lot of moments in this exhibition where you will catch your breath or you will want to cry or you will want to curse, or you’ll want to walk away; you’ll want to rage, but there really is a layer of hope embedded in the concepts that course through this exhibition. There’s this idea of celebrating America’s hard-fought successes in the battle for equality while also advocating for the fact that we need continuing reflection, conversation and action to grow as a nation and build a more just society.

Chasing dreams may force you to make some very difficult decisions. It means taking risks, stepping outside your comfort zone, doing tough things to make you grow.

I think just being alive is an accomplishment – you know what I mean? It’s super huge. And a lot of people don’t realize that because they have all this work they need to be doing and they’re not doing it and they’re feeling depressed, feeling like I can’t do anything. ‘What am I doing? I guess I’ll just do telemarketing or something.’ The thing is – just being alive at any point is a big deal. I don’t know… It’s hard to express that… it’s like do you understand this? Do you? Do you?

We have a city that you don’t have to take your talents to New York, to LA, to Chicago, you can do things right here and that’s one of the things I wanted to in terms of film. I wanted to show that you can do really excited things and you can do them right here in Omaha.

“Honestly, the entire topic of public art is a ‘soapbox territory’ for me. As far as I’m concerned, more art should be accessible; more art should encourage us to participate in our communities; more art should bring people unexpected joy.”

Michelle Bazis: “When I restarted my thinking and stopped being afraid of making mistakes, discomfort or the unknown, I was able to pursue my creative passions and experiences without limitations.”