Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Be Whatever, Just Be Reasonable

A novelist I admire said (I'm paraphrasing):  We are taught we can be anything we want as children but, as adults, we're told repeatedly to be reasonable.  

When I read that, I froze.  I began to think of everything I'd been told.  Did the tone change?  Was there a different song I was supposed to dance to? I'm lucky because, when the answer I found was "yes", it wasn't friends/family saying it.

Society itself presses upon you the thought of impractical or wild things being childish fantasies or delusions.  A job guaranteeing income, a solid business plan, a sturdy place to live your life... it goes on.  We're taught anything not certain is a foolish risk, unnecessary.

But, anything worth it is a gamble.  Our world has brilliance and innovation simply because someone had a scheme, a goal, that seemed too odd, too different than most.

So don't listen.  Even if your entire family says you're a nut, you know the truth.  Just keep moving forward and work your ass off.  Someday you can be the proof of creativity's wonder, impracticality and all.
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Who (or what) keeps you going?  How do you cope with naysayers?

2 comments:

  1. Powerful statement! And so true. Art is rarely reasonable anyway. It's about pushing the limits and thinking outside the box. This made me think of Steve Jobs--since I just watched the movie Jobs. It was super inspiring for artists.

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    1. I haven't seen that movie yet but he was very inspirational, indeed.

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