The Creator

Originally created 8/5/24 in my handwritten journal a day after returning to NYC for the first time all summer. Never intended for publication… but whatever. Rules are created to be broken.

To be a great human is to accept it.

To be a great actor is to go with it.

To be a great writer is to capture it.

To be a great singer is to elevate it.

To be a great dancer is to flow with it.

To be a great comedian is to have fun wit it.

To be a great soul is to expand wit it.

The “it” is life: the moment, the day, the situation.

When the “it” happens, how do we respond to it?

Because the “it” will happen regardless,

And yet, it’s up to us to choose our greatness.

How does something like that happen? ^^^

I don’t intend to boast at all, but who am I bragging to, except myself on an empty page? But how does this happen? Those words just flowed. I subtly awoke from my slumber. A feeling was present. That feeling was felt, fully experienced. Then, as my mind caught up to my body, the words started to rush in to begin to describe it. But it wasn’t quite a “rush.” It was gentler than that. The words just came as the pen met the page. Arriving, flowing, embracing. Like the “greatness” described above. (I’m not saying that this the greatest poem ever written, I’m just amazed that it seemed to flow out of nowhere.)

It’s funny to admit how I used to always turn my nose up at “the arts.” Fine Arts Majors. Acting “school.” Pursuing comedy as a “profession.” On the Money Plane, none of these careers / pursuits make any rational sense. “Does not compute.” When the objective is money, then sure, maybe if an aspiring actor became one of the lucky ones in a million, then there’d be money AND fame waiting at the end of the journey. History shows that physical artists - sculptors, painters - make most of their money after they’re dead (so maybe their families ought to be more supportive…). Singers are always waiting for their big break. Then for the lucky few who get it, it’s even fewer who are able to produce & tour long enough to stay relevant. Dancers… I don’t know how many have been able to ascend to generational wealth ever (at least the ones who keep their clothes on… and even then).

So viewed through the lens of the Money Plane, the risk / reward makes absolutely no sense; it just doesn’t compute from the very beginning. An artist is signing up - opting in - to a money-losing proposition. So, if it makes no sense at all from the Money Plane perspective, then why, year-after-year, do humans still flood into the profession?

Because money is the entirely wrong metric here. Fame doesn’t even matter either (because the odds are the same of earning widespread stardom). What practicing an art form gets a human is a daily entry to the Creation Plane.

Ask a pianist where they go when their fingers begin to flow…

Ask a painter their “Current Location” when they begin to bring their vision into fruition…

Ask a poet who they’re speaking to when it only appears to be a one-sided conversation…

They’ve departed. They’re on a different plane of existence. The only other being they’re with is the Source (hence the apparent conversation). There is no concern about “What will come next?” When this departure happens, it’s a one-way ticket to the present. That’s why money will never be the proper metric. Because - to use the Tim O’Reilly metaphor - acquiring money is like getting gas from the gas station. It’s inherently future-focused. It’s not an act of creation. It’s an act of preparation. In no way do I want to just stay at a 7/11 for eternity (no matter how tasty their rotating taquitos are). It’s a pit stop, a promise, that this minor detour will set me up for the next leg of this incredible adventure. But to stay at the gas station, while running the car & continuing to burn fuel, ultimately begs the question: “Dang… what am I doing this for?” Life is a highway and I’ve been gifted this car. I get to choose where to drive it. Where will I take the open road that awaits?

Artists have a clear answer: straight to the Creation Plane. To be close to the Source, to be in communion with the Creator, to embrace the muse, that’s what it’s all about in the end. Athletes can relate to the experience when they’re playing for the love of the game. Creating an experience that can’t be “saved up for later,” the only purpose of its participation is to enjoy it right here.

The act of creation is done for its own sake. To create is to gain one’s “Admit One” to the moment. Then, eventually, the artist returns to “real life” once the creativity stops flowing. After the session, the artist can try to describe that state of being, but they can’t feel it again. That’s reserved exclusively for those who are currently creating.

Hence the frustration of artists who know the feeling I’m trying to describe (trust me… I see the irony), but are “blocked.” They’re desperate to go back to that place again. And yet, why are they remaining blocked? Because they’re trying to get back to the Creation Plane just so they can leap frog it and end up on a different one. Ask any blocked artist, even if they’re already famous, to produce the next piece feels impossible when the intention is just to put more gas in the car or against-all-odds become a star. If the point is to end up on the Money Plane or the Fame Plane, then the artist never fully arrives at the Creation Plane. They might be peeking through the window. They might even dip their toe in (or half an a** cheek if they’re lucky), but they won’t fully drop in if their only intention in arriving is just to leave again. The tickets are reserved for those who desire to stay for the full feature. Those who want to watch the entire movie, appreciate the whole film, beginning to end. When one begins to write the poem, sing the song, dance the dance, or create the relationship, they don’t begin the journey already debating, “Man, I wonder what this will look like when it reaches the end…” To set such an expectation would be to miss the entertainment of the plot’s unfolding! The intention of showing up at the page, at the mic, or on stage is for the sole purpose of present enjoyment. Simply to flow with it. Experiencing what happens as it does. And this is why we do it (when life circumstance doesn’t require that we prostitute it). We drop in, melting into the moment, with no concern for the future. Because creating for the sake of creating is like playing for the love of the game, nothing else needs to happen in order to achieve that glorious state of peak fulfillment.

Just for a moment, this moment is enough… and so is the creator.