Creativity Makes People Unfomfortable
There's a lot to be said for new beginnings. I love new
beginnings. One might say I live for new beginnings. There are
always new friends to meet, new places to discover, new projects
to develop. It's the challenge of mystery, the exciting promise
of a new adventure that draws me into the future. It's hard to
imagine why some people live their lives in a straight jacket,
afraid to move. At the very least, they conform to a self
imposed stereotype. Too afraid to express themselves; reluctant
to change, to try anything different, they expect others to do
the same.
Dennis Walsh progressofmusic@hotmail.com
Like racing down a turnpike with too many signs and far too many
choices, we stream through life never sure where and when to
stop and go. The human race has a history of being
closed-minded. Traditions were handed down from generation to
generation. We were taught what was "right" and "wrong", "true"
and "false." We were taught what to think and what not to think.
We were taught what to do and what not to do. Anyone straying
away from the accepted norm was considered foolish.
Struggling to make it all work, we pass through life frustrated
with it all but more determined than ever to fit into the system
that puts bread on the table and gives us purpose. Pity those
who do not do that. They live in a special type of hell reserved
for self pity and boredom. Rising to the occasion, we spend the
day complaining about the way life should be and griping about
the way it is, powerless to do more than that. Like it or not we
are part of the big picture regardless of those who may want us
to believe we have nothing to do with the outcome.
People have an innate desire and need to create. It is part of
what makes us human. Once we have created an artistic work,
there is usually an immense feeling of satisfaction and
resolution- a feeling that we have "made a statement". During
times of great euphoria or times of trauma, musicians compose
and perform music in an attempt to describe feelings that cannot
otherwise be expressed.
Creativity makes the difference between an interesting,
fulfilling life and one that is not. But creativity comes with a
price. Creative people work at the edge of their competence. The
possibility of failure is present but that is where they get the
best results. Psychologists say genius is inseparable from
failure. That may be true. Creativity tends to produce great
quantities of mediocrity. The difference between success and
failure is when creative people produce and keep producing work
without giving up. That's when they achieve their vision.
As a song shouldn't have to be explained and it's up to the
listener to figure out what it means, Ludwig von Beethoven,
arguably the most influential composer of all time, changed the
voice of classical music. Influenced by political tensions that
ravaged Europe in the wake of the French Revolution, his genius
produced something so unique that it caused many people to
dislike him. He provoked emotional fury and frantic applause
wherever he went: That made people uncomfortable. Creativity
makes some people uncomfortable.