kokopelle | Entries tagged with creativity

The poem “To Be a Poet” is about the statements that a poet can make. I’ve done most of these, and for this, I am a healthier person.

To Be a Poet

To be a poet
there is no test
to write poem
about the world
to document
it is not vain
to share your thoughts
words put to page
to scream your rage
at the machine
to shout with joy
at the beauty
to cry the tears
held in your heart
to cheer the victors
when your team wins
to imply the intimate
when libido yearns
to exclaim your place
for all to see
to stake a claim
in black and white.

© 2016, Sean Green. All Rights Reserved, 20160714.

Current Mood: contemplative

One of my secret shames is a vast amount of cluttered hoarding, acquisition of many things that mean little to me now. Now in their place, if they really had one, I have my creative work. I suspect this is true for many artists whatever their medium may be. The ability to create something out of very little, and then share it with a larger world, beats the material acquisition game any day for me!

Recovery
Poem for Day 196 – 20150715

Possessions were the standard
of my success or failure.
Witness the parade of acquisitions,
stacked high and wide this day.
There was prize for the largest pile,
no way to take it when I'm pulled away.
I'll be remembered not for the things
I hold tight to me before I die.

Sickness gripped my plaintive self,
oh so much was not enough.
More and more did not remedy
the illness where my soul should be.
I was seeking myself in these things,
something to fulfill a hungry place.
To have felt like a remedy,
I was looking in places wrong.

A path forward presented itself,
creativity offered me integral repose.
To have and share became clear,
with the muse's help I would resolve.
Words would become my possessions
as I collected rhyming memories.
Poems spun into artful arrangements
would become what I would stack high.

Held and shared with the world,
prose would flow from a source,
touched by this mortal coil,
divinity inspired verse for all.
Words from my humble pen,
spilled ink to form a poem.
Words speak for me and you alike,
shared ground for lives shared.

Lives touched by lyrical marks,
invisible to most, felt by many,
a noble bequest to leave behind,
a soul's request to share a heart.
Now I use my tools of creativity,
spare surroundings supporting
a parade of shared sincerity
until that day I'm called beyond.

© 2015, Sean Green. All Rights Reserved.

Current Mood: contemplative

I am blessed to know artists of all types: painters, potters, dancers, DJs, cosplayers, poets, writers, performers, singers, photographers, bloggers, and dreamers. The last, the dreamers, I hold in most sincere regard because of the potential not yet realized. The poem “The Muse’s Call” is about the relation between the artist and that larger force driving us to create.

The Muse's Call
Poem for Day 155 – 20150604

I'd like to dance like Fred Astaire
and write lyrics like the Yes.
I'd like to strut my stuff with you
and know that my work's been viewed.
To this end I am not unique,
merely a struggling artist incomplete.
I have my desires to excel,
to leave something of myself behind.

These are this artist's fantasies,
extensions of who I've come to be.
I've become more than myself
with you a witness of my renaissance.
We are all life's participants
in this game till the very end.
The geist of artistry is our guide,
lady of creation cradling the child.

I will not ignore her calling,
the request to speak for the muse.
She holds my hand as I walk,
putting forth my artist's spark.
My words now come to an end,
with Fred Astaire and the Yes in tow.
I'll take my leave from your time,
and know that I have served her well.

© 2015. Sean Green. All Rights Reserved

Current Mood: artistic

A friend posted a meme that said "To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong." (Joseph Chilton Pearce) . This struck a note with me, and I thought it could go one step further. The creative life asks a person to lose the fear of never being completely right. To never be completely right again? This is too much for some to accept. The creative plunge forward, seeking to find and share the wrong side of right.

The Wrong Side of Right
Poem for Day 073 – 20150314

Life on the creative path
is not for the faint of heart.
No progress made until you
loose a thing others cannot part.
There is a fear of being wrong,
something the creative must release.
The dread goes beyond this pale,
that of never being completely right.

Step lightly on the artist's trail.
Every step leaves the assurance behind
of being entirely right.
with the whole of the proper world.
You will become out of sync,
a beat away from society.
They will thrum the rowers drum
with you deaf to the siren's call.

Some will call you fraud,
pretender to a greater crown.
violator of sacred holies,
while in pursuit of your own art.
Others will deem you immoral,
deviant of life's pure path.
Virtue is unattainable
for those dancing on edge of life.

In the end an artist's life
will put in your right place.
Society's measure is taken
by your imaginative creativity.
Take heart my fellow traveler.
Though you may never be completely right,
this lose of fear will serve you well
as you show others the wrong side of right.

© 2015. Sean Green. All Rights Reserved

Current Mood: contemplative

There are so many ways to creatively express oneself. I've figured out my own way of doing it through writing and poetry. Others do it through videography, music, art, lyrics, or a combination of the above. I watched Cool World (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cool_World). I loved the imaginative art work, and part of me would very much like to be able to draw realities. Would I trade this for being able to write realities? Could I write a reality, via poem or prose, as powerful as the best drawn realities? I'll just have to try!

The interesting side of this thought regards how people relate to the world. Some people are visual. Others are audio. Some are touch. Each sense is a doorway to more appreciating the world. I suspect I am a terribly visual person, but I express myself through writing. I do photography, yes, and I am sufficient at it, but I don't pursue it to the length that others do. Why don't I express myself in the way that I most appreciate the world? Is it because I am not sufficient in visual expression? Perhaps, but maybe there is something else going on. What are your thoughts?

Current Mood: contemplative

From 2006...

I've been reading a wonderful book ('The Self-Aware Universe' by Amit Goswami) about quantum mechanics and consciousness. I was thinking just now about how love connected into what I've been reading.

There exists a unified model of the brain as a combination of a quantum and a classical mechanism(s). The classical part of our brains measure and classifies. The quantum part of the brain collapses the quantum possibilities into a single point, creating a perceived reality and giving us creativity, free will, and "ah-has!". The paradox of the brain is that we experience separation from others where there is no separation. The driver for this separation is that the quantum/classical interfacing point is experienced in a transcendent state, and we cannot "see" this connection.

An analogy is the false logic loop created by the question, "have you stopped beating your wife?" It can be answered with neither yes nor no. Instead it is solved by a transcendent wave of the hand, for we either don't have a wife or we are not beating her.

I think the experiencing of sadness, in the same moment of coming from a desire for happiness, awakens the transcendent mind to the true nature of love. Love stands outside of the wife/beating and sadness/happiness logic loops. It is transcendent, and only is indirectly apparent when we realize the paradox of emotion. To seek happiness as a respite from sadness is like seeking an ending to our beating the wife. It cannot happen. What can happen is our realization that the duality of sadness/happiness is an illusion, and love stands outside of this illusion.

Current Mood: contemplative

Creativity has a dark side, its own shadow. This shadow eventually manifests in inappropriate acts of expression. But what of people who are inherently violent or just plain broken? They create horrors. I am not speaking of these sociopathic acts. Instead I want to speak to the outcome of the shadow resulting from society's suppression of healthy creativity. Who is society? Society are the groups and traditions uncomfortable with unfettered created. Forms of morality are the foundation of the traditions. Society is a silent, but active, partner in the creation of the artist's shadow.

What are the fruits of creativity's shadow? What happens when the creative soul cannot create when it wants to? As I will speak to later, creation will occur, but it will occur in an inappropriate time and place. The manifestation may not even be “artistic”. There will be creation, but it may more resemble the sibling destruction.

The need to create something is the source of the shadow of creativity. Creativity is most satisfactory when there is the possibility of recognition by others. Just knowing that somebody, some day, will see the result of creativity is enough to satisfy this need. People will seek some expression of themselves. The suppression of this has the same results as pushing the air out of one end of a tubular balloon. The air will go to the other end of the length. Just as there is no way to completely flatten a balloon, the human desire to create cannot be completely squelched. The balloon can be flattened by popping it, allowing all air to escape. Sadly, this is the malevolent path that traditions take to quiet the output of others. Society seeks to “flatten” the artist. The suppressed, by focused authority or environment, will find a way to create. The outcome can be reactive, violent and destructive. The greater the suppression, the greater the eventual explosion. Others ask the creative soul to be quiet and behave. The platitude of "live with it" or "get over it" is not enough. Creativity will happen. It is incumbent on us, as a family and society, to recognize the needs while they are small and benign. The proper channeling of creation can prevent the shadow from fully expressing it's darkness.

Darkness does have a place in creation. There is a tremendous power stored in the shadow. In the early 2000s I was told that I should be writing. At that time I struggled mightily with dark thoughts. I told myself, "I cannot write of what I know. Who wants to hear about madness?". Now I do write. My own shadow is still there. Now the darkness informs my writing, adding wisdom and insight. There are artists who's works are simultaneously very dark, even as they peers into the depths of the human experience. Sometimes it is difficult to look, read or listen to these creations. This is OK. The artist is creating for themselves and for those who are capable of sharing the vision. Deep down, the darkest of works are created with the mantra of "somebody will see this, somebody will recognize this". The shadow is crucial part of creation. Without the darkness, there cannot be light.

"In the beginning God created heaven and earth." So says Genesis 1:1. I say that God is still creating the heaven and the earth. We stare into the same void. We maintain our sanity and soul by seeing the void as a place of potential. What are we to do on this earth? What is our purpose? Merely create the best you can. On the sixth day, you too will say, "behold, it was very good".

Current Mood: pensive

I believe that there is an innate drive for humans to create. Somewhere I read that the basic requirements for living were shelter and warmth. These will keep a person alive, but this is not enough to truly thrive. At some level the full expression of existence demands a form of personal expression. The stamp of "I AM" is programmed into our beings. The suppression of this urge is done at the detriment of the individual. The outlet of this urge promotes the growth of the individual.

This is a good place to introduce my "wall-paper" theory. Humans crave change and contrast. The human attention is transitory, seeking fresh sights and sounds for it's delight. The continuous viewing of one object, no matter how beautiful, is not satisfactory to the human mind. The wall-paper of life must change. Those people who accept the same continuous stimuli are seen as deviant. We punish people by removing variety. Witness the modern penal system. We pity those, who by disease or injury, are left in a vegetative state. Humans will resist being "wall-papered" by life. To keep sanity and soul, people will create in any way that they can.

The need to create something is the source of the shadow of creativity. People will seek some expression of themselves. The suppression of this has the same results as pushing the air out of one end of a tubular balloon. The air will go to the other end of the length. Just as there is no way to completely flatten a balloon, the human desire to create cannot be completely squelched. The balloon can be flattened by popping it, allowing all air to escape. Some people attempt to suppress their creative desires. The reasons can be external, like societal pressures, or inward, like a desire for false quietude. No matter the reason, there will be a reaction for highly creative people. The outcome can be reactive, violent, and destructive. The greater the suppression, the greater the eventual explosion. The platitude of "live with it" or "get over it" is not enough. Creativity will happen. The serial killer is an artisan in his own right. The mob riot is a song of rage. It is incumbent on us, as a family and society, to recognize the needs while they are small and benign. The proper channeling of creation can prevent the shadow from fully expressing its darkness.

Current Mood: contemplative

I am blessed to have some very creative LJ friends. There are photographers, parents, writers, jewelry makers, painters, organizers, teachers, musicians, theologians, philosophers and body workers. It is a pretty amazing group.

The common thread of these people is their desire to create. I now believe that there is an innate drive for humans to create. Somewhere I read that the basic requirements for living were shelter and warmth. These will keep a person alive, but this is not enough to truly thrive. At some level the full expression of existence demands a form of personal expression. The stamp of "I AM" is programmed into our beings. The suppression of this urge is done at the detriment of the individual. The outlet of this urge promotes the growth of the individual.

( Read more... )

"In the beginning God created heaven and earth." So says Genesis 1:1. I say that God is still creating the heaven and the earth. We stare into the same void. We maintain our sanity and soul by seeing the void as a place of potential. What are we to do on this earth? What is our purpose? Merely create the best you can. On the sixth day, you too will say, "behold, it was very good".

Current Mood: creative

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Poetry Accident

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Journey to Ixtlan

(are we there yet?)

Entries tagged with creativity

Poem - To Be a Poet

Poem - Recovery

Poem - The Muse's Call

The Wrong Side of Right

Creative Expression

Quantum Creativity

Dark Side of Repressed Creativity

Darkness and Creation - A Personal Story

The Urge to Create, No Matter What

The Urge to Create