An Argument For Art — And Why You Should Be Creating With Every Opportunity You Get

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Excerpt: Think about everything that has to happen before you even get to consider creating something. It’s a miracle that art is a thought for you…

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Think about how much has to happen before you even get to consider creating something. I mean, seriously. To start, how about the fact that there’s a 1-trillion-to-1 chance of you even being born human. Congratulations, you already won the lottery.

Next, consider the fact that you need all of your basic human needs covered: food, water, shelter, warmth, safety, and security. How could you possibly consider creating when one of these basic human needs isn’t met? Have you ever thought about painting when you were dehydrated? How about playing piano when you were starving? Nope, you haven’t.

Consider the following stats from Population Education: 1 in 3 people worldwide are affected by malnutrition or chronic food insecurity. 40% of the global population is affected by water scarcity, and 26% lacks access to even basic sanitation services. There are 400 million people globally with no basic healthcare, and more than 1.6 billion people for whom healthcare access is fragile and often insufficient to meet their health needs. And based on the fact that you’re reading this, I’m confident that you’re not in one of the above mentioned stat categories. Congratulations, another lottery won.

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Next, what about your psychological needs? We all need to feel that sense of belongingness and love. When we’re ostracized, belittled, discriminated against, beaten down, hated on, and otherwise treated poorly, our spirit breaks down. How could it not? Most people who fall into this category have had their spirits attacked so much throughout their lives that they have developed legitimate mental illnesses or have adopted negative coping habits of varying degrees that continue to break them down as a result—and understandably so.

Some people have gone through hell and back. How they managed to get through hell is their business and should be taken into consideration before they are judged superficially. A person coming out of hell isn’t exactly contemplating what to mold their clay into the next day. Nor are they thinking about how to write their experiences into poetry. It isn’t usually until later, after a person stabilizes that they are able to focus on creating. And what’s interesting is that in many cases, it is not from an absence of hell that people create their best work, but from a place of finding their way through hell that many of the most amazing creations we—both you and I—have ever experienced in our lifetimes come from.

Think about it. I’m willing to bet that some of your favorite love songs were created after the artist experienced some of their worst breakups and heartaches. I’m sure some of your favorite paintings and pieces of art were done by people who were chronically depressed, sad, or otherwise survivors of hell in their own right. I know for a fact that so much of the poetry in the world comes from a place of hurt, pain, and grief. And so is true for many other avenues of creation.

When we think about psychological needs, what’s interesting is that the act of creation can become a way of actually fulfilling them. Creating connects you to likeminded people. The act of creating exposes your vulnerabilities and opens you up to moments of intimacy with people who are touched by the work. And through a steady career of producing and shipping “art,” a person can find their esteem through personal accomplishments and victories that they earn along the way. But, in most cases, this is the exception, not the rule.

Most people never get to a place of active recovery (channeling their pain into something constructive to help healing) and rather, default to passive un-recovery. What’s “un-recovery?” It’s everything people do to cope with the hell they’ve experienced in their lives that doesn’t make any of it better. It’s distracting themselves with passive entertainment. It’s numbing their pain through drugs, alcohol, or sex. It’s suppressing the emotions inside by masterfully filling their lives with busywork that leaves them feeling justifiably excused from being able to do any of the “real work” that will help heal their lives. Busywork doesn’t heal. Confronting the past in safe and well orchestrated ways, heals. Creating can be a large component of that process.

And if you are in that boat of being able to confront your hell then let me be the first to congratulate you—you won the lottery yet again. While it might not feel like it because of the hell you’ve been through, look from another perspective and understand that the fact you even have THE OPTION to express yourself, is one of the ultimate wins in life. It’s the ultimate victory and there is no greater opportunity for a human, in a modern society, on the planet today.

It’s honestly a damn miracle that creating is something you get to consider doing. And honestly, it’s a damn shame if you don’t choose to do anything with that opportunity. To give in to the temptations of comfort and passive entertainment is to flush down the drain an opportunity that most would kill to have. Creation is the ultimate expression of self. What could be a higher form of expression than what an individual has brought to life—birthed if you will—from the complicated collective of experiences that make them who they are? I don’t believe there is a higher form of expression.

And for you, or anyone, to look at that opportunity and decide to flush it away is a travesty. I strongly urge you to reconsider the opportunity that lies before you today. Put some words onto a blank page. Mold some clay. Apply some paint onto a canvas. Hit some notes on your favorite instrument. Code a new app, website, or game. Hit that record button. Start that business. Or start otherwise creating content that reflects your desire to shape your aptitudes, interests, and desires into something more.

Oh, and one more thing. If you’re going to choose against creating for whatever reason, don’t you dare go and sabotage anyone else out there trying to do it. It’s damn well hard enough to produce as is, don’t you go around making it any harder for those who are out there doing it. Be the first to support. The first to comment and share. The first to donate and purchase. The first to send them messages of positive reinforcement along the way. And be the first to back them up when they make a mistake, share something lame, or produce something that doesn’t appeal.

I’m not saying to be dishonest and praise everything they produce blindly—no. I’m saying to either support their process of creation (because it’s through the process that good becomes better and better becomes their best) or get out of the damn way. Thank you kindly. I hope this finds you well and you find your courage to get on your way. It takes a lifetime of trying before you produce your best art and today is a great day to start. I (we) can’t wait to see what you come up with. Good luck.

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