More like creativity is the road. It's all around me, I just need to pay attention. It's all around everyone , at least that's what I believe, but not everyone pays attention to it. I can only control what I pay attention to. Balls. It takes a bit of cajones to be here, on this blog. Not trying to pat myself on the back too much here, but it does take some stones to put shit up here. Yes, I said it. Shit - or not shit, to put anything at all up here/out there is a good thing - because it's keeping me on the road that I want to be on.
That road is creativity. Every word I could ever use here - or anywhere else, has already been used before, many times over. Everything I will ever say, has been said before - many times over. But here's a thought: Maybe, just maybe, I'll find a way to say it in a way that grabs people differently and makes them notice something that they haven't noticed before. Maybe I'll say it in a way that suddenly makes the value and/or beauty of it stand out in a way that they didn't see before.
I'm in the midst of reading two things by an author named Austin Kleon (www.austinkleon.com) and I can highly recommend both of these books: Steal Like An Artist, and Show Your Work. Both of these books have led me to look for other sources of inspiration and pay more attention to my own creative processes. I'll be the first to scratch my head over the number of readers this blog has, and do even more scratching when I see the stats for posts on any given day, and the location of my readers/visitors.
Not all of the work I do is stuff I can show - for the moment, and Lord knows much of it may be of no interest at all, but one of the things Austin Kleon talks about is showing work. Then there's crediting work from others and opening up new avenues for others by doing so. The two books by Mr. Kleon that I mentioned above are excellent reads for anyone who may be struggling with any part of the creative process - including me. They've also pointed me towards other books and different ways to look at, and for creativity.
I've said it many times right here on this blog, and I'll say it again: The reason this blog was created was for two reasons: To get me writing and to keep me writing. Fuck the critics who want me, or anyone else to feel bad about falling, failing or fucking up in general on the road to nurturing my creative side. If an F bomb seems harsh, so be it - because when someone says something that completely disregards the very reason this blog exists and wants me to feel bad about even taking a chance, well...fuck 'em. If I don't write, how am I supposed to find my voice? If I don't read - and I'm a dude who basically feels as though I will never be able to read enough, then how will I know what I want to write about? The short answer is easy - I won't.
The deeper I get into creativity, the less I want anything to do with critics. I see no value in critics for the most part, particularly when it comes to art - and pick any art form you like. Who cares why someone doesn't like something you like? Do I want readers? Absolutely - but regardless of how many or how few I have, I have to keep going. I've had critics who don't get me say some really harsh things - and I've had even more harsh things from people who should get me by now. Both cases bothered me at first - until I started to see clarity through a fog of insults. Why give energy and attention to anyone talking about what they don't like about something? There are too many things I like that deserve my attention. The only original thing I'm capable of doing, is being me. That also happens to be my only option really - no matter how much I may want to emulate what anyone else is doing. I can only be me.
I may have a long ways to go - but one never really arrives, it's all about the journey. So I keep looking, I keep trying...trying to do, and learn...and banish the kinds of people that it's not healthy for me to be around. I give more thought to the kind of person I am, to be around. Am I a good friend? A good coworker? Employee? Brother? Son? Uncle? Am I cool enough? I mean, I wanna be...but that's not really for me to say, whether I am or not. We're all in this together, so it might be nice to start a movement - a movement of encouragers. This world has more than enough critics, and with the advent of all the online stuff, anyone and everyone can be a critic these days. My question remains, and I'll put it bluntly: who the fuck needs critics? Encouragers? We all need those from time to time.
So here's to the encouragers on the road to creativity - I say let's start a movement, a club - whatever you wanna call it, but let's put up a sign: No Critics Allowed.
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