I was recently included in a book called Cult of Lego. I am honored that my Lego camera continues to resonate with people six years after it made the rounds on the internet. Cult of Lego is a really impressive book, weighing in at almost 300 pages of fascinating photos, amazing projects, and colorful personalities. If you are a Lego fan, I encourage you to pick up the book.

Reading Cult of Lego has got me thinking about why people love Lego so much. What is it that has made Lego more than a kids toy and has elevated it to cult status? I think it boils down to a couple things that are happening in a child’s brain at the age when they discover Lego. Let me explain…

Most of us start building with Lego blocks at a critical point in our childhood development. It is at the age where our imagination is still alive and limitless. Our fantasies are real to us and we spend our days passing back and forth between the “real” world and the imaginary. And this doesn’t feel weird, yet. It is only later that adults convince us that our fantasies are silly, unimportant, or just a waste of time. That tragedy will happen soon enough, but for now, our toys still maintain our full attention. Toys consume our reality and we are happy.

The other thing that is happening in our childhood brain is a huge discovery. We learn that we have an amazing power. We can create things. Anything that we imagine we can build. Space ships, castles, trucks, ships, trains and anything we desire. Toys aren’t just something that we play with, they are something that we create worlds for. And since our imaginary worlds haven’t yet been severed from the physical world, our creations are as real to us as anything else. We really are creating bridges. The race car is real and it was created by you. This isn’t trivial. This is an achievement that will echo into our adulthood. You remember the sense of achievement from your childhood forever. And many of us spend our adult lives trying to recreate that feeling. Is it any wonder that so many engineers, designers, and professional builders still love Lego with the zeal of an 8 year old? I don’t think so.

I have a collection of toys on my desk at work. I am sure it causes some people to roll their eyes or maybe even take my work less seriously. I don’t know. But more than anything these toys are just a reminder to myself that I used to be 8 years old. I had the power to create planes that traveled at light speed. I could engineer a city beneath the ocean. I could create anything that my imagination could think of. I still can. And so can you.

Is it any wonder that Christians struggle to be taken seriously? For good and bad Jesus Christ is a pop icon in today’s society. Add the following to the “bad” category. The site is called The Brick Testament and it is essentially the New Testament of the Bible illustrated in Lego’s. Now you know that I love Lego’s and I love experimenting with how Jesus is represented in modern times. I am not easily offended – and I have offended plenty of people with my Jesus rug. So why is seeing Jesus getting crucified by Lego people so appalling to me? I will let you judge for yourself, but this is the kind of Christian tripe that makes me embarassed to call myself a Christian. This is worse than the misunderstood Piss Christ in my opinion. Here are a couple lowlights: The first is the virgin Mary and the second is a dead Jesus getting taken off the cross. Yikes.

What motivates someone to build a robot out of Lego’s that can solve a Rubik’s Cube? I think many people would say that is a waste of time.

Our society is constantly telling us that “everything has already been done.” So many people take this to heart and give up. The result is a generation of apathy and failure. The people who make a difference in our world don’t buy into the “its all been done” mentality. If you are passionate about something you will at some point be comfronted by someone who will say,

“Why are you doing that? It’s been done. Why would you want to do that? You will never be as good as…”

Doing something is always going to be better than doing nothing. Just because something has been done, doesn’t mean it isn’t worth doing. You will be better for having done it. Just because you will never be able to beat a computer at chess doesn’t mean it isn’t worth playing the game.

Thanks to Seth Godin’s Blog for bringing the Lego story to my attention.