The Pain of Creation vs. the Doldrums of Boredom
We're always told creating things is so rewarding, that it's fulfilling and even ennobling.
Creating anything--be it art, writing, music, dance, another human being--is hard work. You cannot escape that fact. You cannot negotiate around it. You may enjoy that effort, but effort it remains.
Sitting here today, watching some forgettable nonsense on TV, I was struck by how easy it is to choose the dull over the difficult. I know full well that writing is something I purport to love (and do, though my relationship status with it would be "It's Complicated") and there's a big ole dopamine rush with my name on it when I finish that project. Which leads to all sorts of interesting questions about how our ability to set meaningful goals for ourselves vs. pointless ones can potentially be reflected in our brain chemistry, but that's not really the point.
The point is that short term thinking isn't just a political problem. It's a second-by-second effort to overcome the tendency toward laziness that extends down to our very genes. Being lazy, after all, conserves energy. Being manically energetic may accomplish a lot...but what if that's, say, painting the entire wattle-and-daub hut? In midwinter? After a poor harvest?
I'm not writing in praise of laziness. Just...musing, I suppose, on how living a meaningful life is a choice we make second by second, day by day. And the alternative may be comfortable, in a deadening sort of way, but it's a fool's comfort that accomplishes nothing.
Thanks for reading. And by the way, for some reason, I can't place the banners the way I want. Or replace them with properly cropped versions, for some reason. Thanks, @Minds! Showing that competitive edge that will make Facebook look like MySpace one day!
#art #laziness #effort #motivation #meaning #life #creation #creativity