Support
Looper's Delight
|
Support |
|
|
heaven, hell, buddhahood, love, hate, enlightenment and all those 'absolutes' are verbs, not nouns. Creativity is a verb. For me, realizing that my goal was creativity rather than being a music star (or saint) was like sprouting 757 wings! This happened for me (fully) just in this past year - although I've made good money from writing and brain storming in the past. It liberated me from the bondage of music. Now it's farming, writing, music, studio stuff... running the various businesses I have. All of it now brings me the buzz music once had a monopoly on.I think the notion that musicians should all have second jobs is just indicative of the state of the world right now. When I was a kid in the late 50s-60's, there was a study done to find out what the most aspired to vocation was (for kids in school) and, above doctor, lawyer, movie star etc was 'musician'. It was THE most desired job! Now most folks think anyone who's doing anything they really enjoy, that's 'fun', shouldn't be paid for it. Definitely music has fallen from heaven.The glut has defeated the bountiful harvest!We are indeed in an odd time and I'm glad I'm not in my twenties again. For creativity, the gates are wider than they've ever been, for making a living with music they're about as big as an ant hole. But if you see your drive as towards 'creativity' the crunch is off.And as for Ted's most excellent last missal, I think the big question is, "Who does your music serve?" That's from the old Grail Legends, which I think have something to say to modern questers. But if you look at that it will either propel you forward with your music or make you turn off the amp and look out the window.Either way, looking out the window is a good first move.As I've said before, doing music because you love it is the only sound, sustainable motive. But having that love and having some sense of its value raises the ante quite a bit.If you do it because you love it and expect the world to provide for you, a second job might be a good hedge. If you do music because you think it can bring genuine improvement to the lives of humans, trees, bulldogs or antelopes, or whatever, you run the risk of possibly making a living.But creativity is the Big Mother. All of her children are fun to play with. And it SEEMS that if you approach everything with more creativity, the odds of making enough to buy a few more beers and pretzels increases by possible orders of magnitude. Did you ever see that cool video by Arcade Fire? THAT'S what I consider being wholly creative. One of the band guys did that.Our lives are our creations. It takes a lot of the heat off in a way. Moves it to a bigger arena that YOU have more control over. No sugar daddy, applause, P.A. required.Just my very dumb $.02!
On Jan 13, 2011, at 4:14 PM, Rick Walker wrote:On 7/22/64 11:59 AM, tEd ® kiLLiAn wrote:When we get to where we're going as a civilization, will we know how to simply be? If we have so completely set our highest personal and creative goals to be iconoclasts, rebels, individuals, mavericks, self-defined, self-actualized and self-created whatevers - constantly pushing against all known boundaries and any sense of norm or tabu - what will happen when we come to a time that is entirely without them? Will that be heaven? Or will that be hell? Of what use will be concepts like, empathy, kindness, human warmth, or decency in such a world? Indeed, what will be especially human about it at all, except probably the advanced technolgy?My own take is that a sense of constant yearning.............a desire to be continually creative..............these are the
things that make us human. Human beings also constantly aspire to 'arriving'
and when they get there, they realize that that's where they are and then they start aspiring to
something else. I think this is what is beautiful about human beings. We are always a
'work in progress' and really, a final goal is illusory.**It's just me, but I just don't believe
in the notion of heaven or hell. Absolutes and absolute states are illusory. The notion
that they exist is comforting to human beings but only for a little while: then we aspire again. And so it goes.
*
*rick walker*
*