Creative

For the past several weeks, a thought has been haunting me. Where has my creativity gone? To put it another way, why does it seem so difficult, as an adult, to use my imagination?

I am not sure that I can adequately answer that question because, at least in this western American culture, there are more important things to do. And sadly therein, I think the problem lies. Using one’s imagination is seen as a practice reserved for children at play and outside of some relatively isolated pockets of creative professionals, at least in my experience, adults and imaginations are somewhat like oil and water.

Now, I also understand that I often have an awfully narrow view of what it means to be creative or imaginative. But I think our society in general could use a healthy dose of imagination. I need to get better at imagining better stories to tell my son. Stories of our life together as a family, but also as a part of a much larger community of people. I want to participate in a better world, imagining a more just and peaceful existence for this earth and all it’s life.

I want to be more creative in my economics, my art, my parenting, my marriage. Who the hell said the best response in any given situation is to default back to what’s easy? What are we afraid of? I want to create better ways to solve conflict, save energy, care for those who’ve been incarcerated. Why do we isolate ourselves? Why do we setter for mediocre? Why have I far too often settled for mediocre?

As far as I can tell, we’ve only got one chance at this thing we call life and I’m tired of blowing it more often than taking real time to create a different future, a new world, one that is just and peaceful, where we imagine a different life together, where we take care of each other and the life of the planet around us, where we engage in the authentic life of a community. That was a damn long sentence, but I think we need a few more run-on sentences in our world. Not everything is clean, neat and tidy.

Let’s be creative, not just in art or music, but in life. What kind of person do you want to be? I know I don’t want to wake up in 60 years and realize I’ve missed out. So, listen to the birds, watch the clouds, invent, write, make art, spend your money differently than culture tells you, invite people into your home, tell your kids stories, engage in life. May we internalize the words of Gandhi and “be the change we want to see.”

Old, New Ways

Well, it seems that I’ve fallen back into my old ways; posting once a month or so.  At least that’s the case with this past month.  And, gazing through hindsight, I’m pretty sure I can nail down a couple good reasons.

First, though really not a good reason, my wife and I have been considering a pretty major move, both geographically and career related.  Second, I’ve found that over the course of the past year or so, most of my posts have been somewhat of a reaction, often an angry or negative one, to something that has rubbed me wrong.  Particularly, most of my posts were born out of my frustrations with the established religious systems, and for me, specifically in small town, rural Oklahoma.  So, in putting two and two together, I guess I haven’t really been angry at much over the past three or four weeks.  Either that, or I’ve not been good at verbalizing those frustrations, if blogging can actually be called a verbalization.

So in line with the career change, I feel it’s necessary to make a bit of a writing change as well.  Especially since I’m not really sure I’ve made much impact over the past twelve months.  Now, that’s not to say I’m not going to challenge the system, because I think that’s the kind of person I’ve always been, just cautious and fearful of actually living it.  Instead I’m going to be working on a different way of seeing the world.

I’m not sure how many of you (my four readers) have ever picked up a documentary before, but there is one in particular that has, strangely enough, had a profound impact on my thinking.  The film is called The Beautiful Losers if you’d like to check it out.  In short, it’s a chronicle of some street artists from all over the country that are not afraid to be who they are, producing art that is specific to their personality, not something someone else tells them to regurgitate.

There’s really a lot of freedom in the premise.  You see, I’ve lived my life gauging all my interactions based upon what I perceived other people to be wanting me to do, act and say.  Essentially, I’ve not really lived my life, the one I see myself living, and I’ve more closely resembled a robot, performing my basic programming and that’s it.  So things are going to change.  Sadly it’s taken me the better part of 28 years to find that out, but hey, progress is progress.

Finally for today, I’ve always had a quote from my dad in the back of my brain that’s just been slowly etching away the crust of this sterile life I’ve assumed everyone else wants me to live.  It goes as follows, and has, when paralleled with the Beautiful Losers, given me a wonderful launching point for some new ways: “You don’t ever have to ask anyone’s permission to serve God.”

I guess what I needed to hear, and really hear, was this: I don’t have to ask anyone’s permission to be the person that I know I should be.  I am not going to serve the Creator in the same sorts of ways as someone else, though lines may cross.  I’m not going to generate the same artistic pieces as another artist, and that’s okay!  Our world needs a bit of variety, diversity.  We aren’t all cut with a cookie cutter.  My experience with God is different than anyone else’s and when I can figure out that connection, I can more fully and purposefully participate in the greater community around me.  When I live as I think other people are telling me, I’m not able to offer my unique perspective.

May these plain words allow you to be free, to be yourself, from your core.  In doing so, you will realize your place in this world, how you can make it better, and who’s opening to journeying with you along the way.