Listen and repeat

Most of my friends are creative people. That is, they express an interest and pleasure in making things. Whether its music, theater, a short story, or biryani, creation is as far as I can tell is the basic force behind this whole ball of yarn. Even people who tell me they're not very creative end up building social organizations for work or as family, or crafting clever technologies, or other works. Unless you've completely shunted your will to live, you're probably being creative, like it or not.

That said, one of the things I've found most difficult in making things is navigating all the bullshit that distracts me from what I want to do. I can find myself with perpetual creative block. All the tools are there, but the tendency is to collapse under the weight of possibility. What is important is to just complete the behavior. The emotional state will follow. If you try to wait for inspiration, you may or may not get it. But if you just do that act, you will always have that. Reality is what happens, not what wants to happen.

So the question is, without any personal inspiration, where do you start? The answer to this question, for me, is to start with what you know, what works, what makes sense. Look around in your world. Who do you care about? What do you value? What can't you live without? What do you treasure the most? Who are your enemies? Why? These might be hard questions, but they're really just observations. They are the framework of the creative space.

Walk through a dense forest, and notice how even among the individuals there is a sweeping connection of place. Light, and water, and soil and cycles of change forge a uniformity. Everything is both what it is, and where it is. For me, this bridging of time and place through growth leads back to a very old and grounded center of meaning. To be an artist centered in this approach means you can pass through the beauty of the natural world.

So what kind of song would you write? Well what is the effect that would be most useful to you? What story would be worth telling? Who needs to hear it? I'm hardpressed to find the answer to these questions with most music I've heard. But artists like Phish, the Dead, and Pink Floyd are experts at harnessing a musical voice that speaks from the heart of society. Their work goes beyond them, beyond us. To embrace it is to be led toward the divinity that loves itself through its many forms.

What kind of food would you cook? Nourishment seems the primary weakness of food these days. Perhaps it's not time for a new flavor, but for a new approach. Chefs seem to prefer complexity and innovation to simple healthy meals. There is a huge creative opportunity to bring back what's fallen away.

Television, film, radio. So much of what's on the air is shit. Hateful acts of deceit and power mongering. But gems glisten in this darkness. Joss Whedon has done exceptional work. HBO seems to hit the nail on the head more times than not. Take Six Feet Under, for example. A powerfully engaging drama full of pain, struggle, nuance of human identity, that is neither upbeat nor depressing in its arc. It is the story of life that all of us lead, that shows the light in the darkness and leads us to make the best of it.

My point here is to stir my own lolling gears to spin faster, and to engage my peers in doing the same. Our bodies may yearn to make more bodies like ours. But our hearts can also yearn to make more hearts like ours. Between the two, one is the source of our salvation, the other is likely the gateway to our doom. Make your choice.