Creativity is a dick. It’s become this elusive snob that hangs out with other elusive snobs. It’s got an elusive air only a select few can breathe. In our attempt to hang out with creativity, we come off looking needy, vapid and can we all agree — corny. That’s because we continue to see creativity in this narrow, claustrophobic lane of artistry and art.
Today, let’s add some fume to the air. A piece of art is not creative.
Creativity is the outcome of living an interesting life. And to say you are not creative is like saying your life is non-existent.
When was the first time you did something for the last time?
You don’t remember because you are still the same shitty kid you once were. Living pretty much the same life you were living, doing pretty much the same things you have always done. All because you didn’t believe you were artistic. The greatest piece of art ever produced – and sorry about the cheese on this one – is you.
And you are letting that art fall into ruins.
It’s not that we are not creative. It’s that our lives lack creativity. Instead of admitting that and doing something about it, we created a whole new kind of applesauce: Carpe diem (seize the, however crappy, day), YOLO (You Only Live Once; and also: you can remain stupid for a lifetime).
All of this only screams the question: has your life become so dry and lacking in creativity you need spoony aphorisms to keep you going?
Okay. That felt good. My version of a creative outburst.
So what then do you do with your one wild, and precious and half-conscious life?
You make it a work of art is what you do.
Approach it the way an artist would go about treating a piece of art. Allow a validation-less imagination. Pick your colors. Don’t leave empty spaces on your palette. Be patient with your mistakes. Enjoy the process. Don’t be afraid to start all over again, with an empty canvas (ahem – your mid-life crisis – ahem).
Of course importantly, profoundly, YOLOingly don’t let your art remain an imitation. Don’t let it be the result of instructions — the combined work of a caring yet clueless audience. Pretty awful to be signing off someone else’s name in the end. Pretty weepy.
Life is art. Living, its own form of artistry.
Meditations 