Sound and Fury

There is something amazing that can only happen when we completely surrender to our creative impulses, or so we are told. People’s infatuation with artistic endeavors has been a major contributor to the downfall of their own creative expression, it is as if artists had this special and unique place in society that somehow gives them the license to create. The truth is that each and every one of us has the ability, and to a certain degree, the obligation to create.

I am not going to argue that everyone has the ability to create beautiful things, since a lot of what is beautiful in the postmodernist sense, is determined by the conversations between critics and their followers, and since classical beauty takes lifetimes of skill. What I’d like to argue is that integrating creativity in to our lives is a very important and worthwhile pursuit, even if only a few people get to see the fruits of our labor.

Art here, is not defined as the high grade agreement between critics and their audiences, but as the immersion in the observation and interaction with the universe, by this definition, even the lowliest of crafts fall in to the creative expression of universal connection.

A lot of what we create depends on developing our ability to perceive the world in an active way. Most of us contemplate the Universe, but rarely touch it. Most artists, writers, and scientist carry notebooks, recorders, or any other way to capture their impressions about the world at large. This capturing of impressions allows us to transcend life as we recall it. The example of Anne Frank comes to mind, as she wrote, a world largely outside her control, presumably fell into place, and though her story ends tragically, the solace of her writing is a consolation to the survivors.

During the holocaust, any other women created crafts in order to maintain a sense of dignity as they were submitted to unrepeatable acts of horror. It wasn’t that the art was great, or even beautiful. It was human, and in that humanity, it was transcendent.

For me, carrying a journal (electronic or otherwise) makes life brighter and more vivid. It let’s me put things in perspective and lubricates my thoughts. There is a sense that I am, as Joseph Campbell would put it “joyfully participating in the sorrows of the world”, though, of course, the amount of pain that I have experienced as a middle class resident of a first world country is nothing compared to what some people have to go through, but it is writing and creation that keeps this fact in perspective.

Recording our lives in words, song, or painting helps us to internalize them, and to make even the most mundane of moments relevant. Documenting and really observing give life to our myths and stories, and waves the tapestry of our lives, even if it is a personal one. Let the great artists make our collective memories, but do not allow yourself to lose your own. Always carry with you a sense that everything is waiting to be expressed by your writing, stitching, or photographing.