Being the Malcontent

 

Okay, so I’m not advocating revolution or dissent, but I am thinking about changing the status quo.  I’m contemplating the innovation of change.  Not just rhetorical change that politicians spout, but real, positive, life-improving change.  Have you ever just done something the same way for so long it seems alien to you to even attempt doing it a different way?  The familiar pattern is so engrained in you that the discomfort that accompanies change can seem overwhelming.  I understand that, but have you ever noticed that sometimes (actually lots of times) with no change comes stagnation. 

Stagnation is detrimental to experiencing the new.  It saps creativity and inspiration and clouds your mind’s eye to something fresh.  Case in point, driving home from work is a chore, but I go a certain way because I know it to be the fastest.  What I noticed was, after a while, I stopped noticing things: The scenery, the buildings, the road signs.  I recall thinking that I didn’t even want to go home because it was the same old boring trip.  So, I went a different way.  Okay, I wasn’t transported into a fantastic wonderland (wouldn’t that have been cool?), but I made a conscious choice for change. It at least made the trip home more enjoyable.  Point being, I experienced something different, albeit a very small difference, but it made me feel better. 

Being a malcontent with the status quo is a good thing.  When things are always the same nothing different will ever happen.  I’ve learned that experiences both good and bad help foster an innovative and creative spirit. New experiences demand that the status quo be broken. Now, every day doesn’t have to be completely random and unpredictable, that would be chaos (although for a time it might be fun).  But shaking things up and refocusing your attention, energy and thoughts to something new will drive new experiences.  I’ve come to understand, at least for me, the new is an exciting thing, one to be sought after.  Now you might not be as adventurous, but focusing on your malcontent state and deliberately scrambling it up a bit will benefit you a little.  At least it might show you just how good things are right now.  If they aren’t good, well then, maybe you’ll just find yourself in the middle of a personal revolution.  Trust me, it can actually be a good thing. 

 

What’s Your Medium?

Sometimes self expression comes naturally.  Sometimes it has to be cultivated.  Knowing where and how to communicate your creative desire is not only helpful but necessary.  Imagine a singer trying to draw a picture, or a sculptor trying to write a novel.  Communicating your vision through the wrong medium can cloud your message and discourage you from continuing. 

Why is this important?  Experimentation is critical in finding your voice and medium.  I know this seems obvious, but sometimes trying something completely new and outside your comfort zone is exactly what you need to excel.  I’m primarily a writer, but I also draw and sketch.  Now I’m not the greatest artist in the world but doing my little doodles gives me another avenue for expression.  It also helps to get my imagination working in different levels.  I’ve also tried learning to play the Saxophone.  Okay my efforts haven’t born any fruits.  Trust me you don’t want to hear that cacophony. But the point of it all is doing it. 

My daughter is a picky eater.  It’s hard to get her to try anything new.  She also loves bacon (smart girl).  But there was a time when she wouldn’t even try that.  I always ask her “Remember when you wouldn’t try bacon? Imagine your world if you had no bacon.  Seems pretty grim to me”.  She begrudgingly tries the new food I give her and lo and behold, now she loves salami. 

What I’m getting at is the attempt, the force of ‘the new’.  I was writing a story and just kind of threw it in the narrative that my main character wanted to learn how to play the piano.  That little characterization turned into a major force in the story and made it all the more rich and interesting.  Sometimes taking a new direction can alter things considerably and in a good way.

Remember, pushing on your comfort zone is the only way to keep it from shrinking.  Trying new forms of art and expression will help focus your vision.  It will also help you find direction.  It worked for me.  You’ve got nothing to lose.  Give it a shot.

 

Persistence and Determination

To me, there’s nothing more infuriating than a lost opportunity.  When I was younger, I would lament and feel sorry for myself when I didn’t get what I wanted. Thing was, I rarely went out and seized the opportunity to get it.  Really.  That doesn’t make much sense does it?  I’ve noticed that a lot of people bemoan the fact that their lives aren’t the way they want them to be.  But I rarely see people driving forward and really fostering that change necessary to make a real difference.  There is a certain amount of effort that is necessary to ‘just get by’ and there is about a hundred times more effort necessary to ‘make it happen’.  It wasn’t until I realized I was the only one that could honestly ‘make it happen’ in my life, that I really started to see the positive improvements and change happen. 

Someone recently said to me, “A great idea is the start, but those that are successful have persistence and determination.”  That is so true it’s hard to describe.  Never giving up is a hallmark of success.  It reminds me of a poster I saw long ago and always kept in mind.  I didn’t do the artwork for this one, but it is so apt for what I’m talking about I have to include it.  The question for today however is this, Can you persist through adversity to get what you want, or will you just give up?  Think about it…

Magically disappearing posts...

So I had a pretty good post written up here.  Posted on May 11th, and just like many things in life, it up and disappeared before you know it. Do you think it has something to do with it being Friday the 13th?  Creapy.   This reminds me that enjoying the moment and really appreciating what you have right now really counts for the most. Worrying about the past or the future really takes up a lot of energy and just sucks you dry.

So, appreciate the moment, because nothing is guaranteed. 

Where Does Inspiration Come From?

Douglas Clark
-Head writer, The Inspiration Engine

Closely linked to Creativity is the Inspiration necessary to create.  I've often wondered 'where' Inspiration comes from.  To be totally honest, Inspiration comes from everywhere, anywhere and nowhere.  At first this may seem like a cryptic and convoluted non-answer, but bear with me.  Life is really just a person's perspective.  It's the sum of all their experiences, knowledge, intellect, hopes, dreams, fears and relationships, to both others and their environment.  People see life through their own perspective, not Bob's, or Jim's, or Sally's.  If one were to remain isolated in their comfort zone, that comfort zone would shrink and they would be less and less likely to try new things, keep an open mind about different perspectives and generally become closed off.

This is where inspiration does NOT live.  Inspiration is closely linked to experience, variation and  emotional variance.  If you become exposed to more and more things, your understanding increases and the ability to see things from differing points of view grows.  The possibilities of 'what if' become stronger and it leads you to think in new ways.  Once the power of 'new' takes hold, Inspiration becomes easier.  All of the things in your life now take on the possibility of inspiring a new thought or idea, dream or scheme.

Try this:  Go into a room you have been in many times.  Look around.  If it all looks the same change your perspective.  Stand on the chair and look down.  Climb up on the counter and look around (please be careful).  It's the same room, but you're looking at it from a totally different and probably new perspective.  You changed your perspective of that room and your view of it changed too.  Keep that feeling alive and inspiration will come.

I believe in you.  It can happen.  Just change your perspective.

Thanks for reading.

What Creativity Means to Me

I believe that creativity is a quality that all people posses, but not all people embrace.  Creativity is that quality that enables a person to leap beyond the boundaries of reality into a place where everything and anything is possible.  Creativity, for me, is my way of expressing my views, interpretations and feelings, without having to conform to society or other peoples’ beliefs.  Perhaps it’s a bit egotistical to say, but when I create a story, or a painting, I’m the master of that universe.  The power of ‘what if’ is in my hands and I can see a world unlike anything else. 

Creativity is both a skill and a talent.  The more it is used and developed, the sharper it becomes.  I believe that all people can be creative, not necessarily as a writer, or a painter, or in any of the accepted areas of creative arts, but in areas they feel a calling to.  If there is a passion inside them that calls for creation, the desire to innovate or improve, creativity will follow.  It doesn’t matter if they devise a way to bring water to the desert or make a model air plane out of paper clips.  I think the newness with which a person approaches any subject contributes to creativity.

I also think that the term art is rather subjective.  There are so many varying views on what should or shouldn’t be considered art.  To boil it down to the most basic ideal, I think art is anything that can be appreciated for not only its practicality and functionality, but its beauty, appeal, and ability to evoke an emotional response. 


Here's a little picture I put together to get you motivated to create.  Hope you like it.

Don't forget to check out my online store: Myeccentrictees.com for funny tshirts!

Cute Things

So after many years of not having time or mental energy, I finally emerged from my unfocused fog and was inspired.  Sitting down with my daughter, we draw, color, paint, and sketch all the time.  Because of that, I started to get more experimental and try new things.  It had been a long time since I tried animal characters, so I just sat down and sketched out this cute little parrot.

I did the bird totally by hand with colored pencil.  The text was an addition with photoshop.  I think it turned out really well.  For it being a tshirt design, I'd imagine it for a little girl, but I'm sure the ladies might like it too.  What do you think?


Don't forget to check out my online store: Myeccentrictees.com for funny tshirts!