the creative life

I'm always thinking about creating. My future starts when I wake up every morning. Every day I find something creative to do with my life. - Miles Davis

“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.”

These words were once uttered by Pablo Picasso. The same man also said, “Art is a lie that tells the truth.” Which is a profound contradiction any way you look at it. Much like the following phrase:

“Creative people are adults that never grew up.”

Which is mostly true, depending on your idea of “grown up.” Because while there are a handful of “creative people” who behave like adults, function well in society and are productive, the people who do the most creative work are often rogues and rebels. They move against the grain, have a hard time conforming to certain norms and almost always have a penchant for all things “weird.”

In groups, the most creative people will just say whatever comes to mind. They throw ideas out into the world with reckless abandon. Many of which are, at a glance, silly, seemingly irrelevant, and to most people - wrong.

Which is the main reason why many of us born artists grow up to be something else entirely.

Think about it. When you’re born, as you begin aging, your mind starts filling up with different notions about the world around you.

For instance, at a very young age, you learn to recognize your name. Then, you learn to recognize your own image in a mirror. Then, you start to equate the sound of your name with that same image and before long you develop the concept of “I” or “me.” That’s when your ego is born. About that same time, you begin learning to discern between “right” and “wrong.” And before you can even walk, you get the sense that being “right” is better than being “wrong.” Then, you get into school and your whole life hinges on how many times you are right versus how many times you are wrong. Thus, the ego is conditioned to prefer the reward of rightness over the consequence of wrongness.

It is around this time that the natural creativity we are all born with begins to fade. Still, there are those who manage to hang on to it. They remain creative their whole lives. This is because, somehow, they’ve managed to hang on to the notion that it is okay to be wrong.

To live the creative life is to live without the fear of being wrong. Because if you’re always afraid to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything creative.

*This was posted on redpepper's site and I really liked it and wanted to share it here.