Fun

"You must have faith in the creative spirit for it is creativity that gets things created." - Mike Jittlov

What is creativity? How do you measure it? How do you validate it? Can it only be validated by having an audience? Audience of how many? Millions? Ten? One? None? Is it valid just on the virtue of it's very existence even if only observed by it's originator?

I have a deep personal need to be creative, but I have historically not been sure how to go about expressing it because I have spent a lot of my adult life psychologically in "survival mode." This is a mode which is rather conducive to writing depressing broody moody poetry, but not a whole lot else. I have difficulty believing that the only possible catalyst for creative force is pain. That is not to say that being creative isn't a grand therapy (perhaps the best therapy) for dealing with pain, but I would prefer to experience the channeling of joy into creative work.

I have a fairly sizeable body of poetic works which have no relevance to who I am today. I have often written poetry when I have been sad or depressed. Some of my poetry is a bit sick and wrong.

I have written a few songs which are fading into the past of who I once was... but I can still play them, and I honestly still like them. When I was a kid, I wanted to be a rock star when I grew up. Learned guitar at 27, started writing songs shortly thereafter, got happy, wound up feeling uninspired. Haven't picked up my guitar in at least a year.

I have, however, spent the past 13 months effectively re-creating myself. That has, in and of itself, been a creative project, and it will always be a creative project. I hope always to be aspiring and challenging myself because that is where the living happens.

I've reevaluated a writing project that I started a while back (a novel). It's not back to life yet, may never be completed, but I'm thinking about it again and have done some massive revisions already.

I'm considering taking one of the various Improv classes that is offered in my area. That could be fun...

...and that's really it, you see. Creativity is bringing something new into the universe. It's valid whether you like it or not, whether it's a multimillion dollar blockbuster movie or something you're afraid to show anyone. Most importantly (at least for me in my life right now) is that is must be fun.