Create More, Consume Less

I’m sure it’s just frequency illusion (like when you decide you might like to buy a red car, and suddenly red cars are everywhere), but lately I seem to be haunted by this advice.

If you want to fight the despair engendered by our inexorable descent into fascism and corruption…

If you want to grow…

If you want to save the planet…

If you want to find peace…

If you’re suffering from burnout…

If you want to leave a legacy behind…

…create more and consume less.

Of course, the seeming ubiquity of this statement is an indicator of just how much I’ve been doing the opposite lately. A cosmic reminder that doomscrolling or zoning out in front of mediocre television (not to mention inhaling ice cream) is not going to make me feel better. Nor will it in any way be helpful in my struggle to select and begin my next writing project, a prospect that I’m currently finding a little daunting.

Well, okay, I thought, after receiving the message, I guess that means I should write more (a no-brainer given the recent decrease in my writing hours thanks to marketing my book) and maybe I should get out those craft materials I was playing with a while back (more difficult given my still-unresolved trauma after an elementary school art teacher encouraged the entire class to ridicule my work). But wait, I thought, there must be other ways to create. And the next day I came across a post (yes, still scrolling a bit but with less frequency and doom) which posited that there are three parts to creativity: creative expression, creative thinking, and noticing and acknowledging beauty. Which opened the floodgates for me; suddenly I was inundated with ideas for creating more.

Creative expression. This encompasses so much more than writing, crafting, and other visual or performing arts. I’m also being creative when I cook, dance around the living room, decorate my house and landscape my yard. And I get a special thrill from the creativity of organizing and quieting my living spaces. I also enjoy curating a unique wardrobe.

Creative Thinking. Maybe because I tend toward sloth, I find creative thinking even more rewarding than creative expression. I could spend hours learning something new, brainstorming, daydreaming (all are precursors to creative expression, actually). I’m learning to ask what if (in a non-catastrophizing way), to try to understand other points of view, to connect ideas. And I love nothing more than a creative solution to a challenge.

Noticing and acknowledging beauty. This is something I’ve been doing on my morning walks for several years now without realizing it was a form of creativity. It doesn’t have to be an astounding European panorama or a famous work of art: seeing the sun rise, smelling the lilacs, hearing the mournful train whistle, feeling the cool breeze, and meeting them with a bit of wonder and gratitude is lighting up the same pathways. The beauty can also be abstract rather than physical: a moment of true connection experienced or witnessed, a kindness, a psychological or intellectual breakthrough.

I know myself well enough now to not even contemplate strictly curtailing my consumption. I’ll still be reading voraciously (although I’ve resolved to supplement my regular reading with more entries on the craft of writing and more inspirational non-fiction), going to happy hour at my favorite new Italian place, winding down at night with a Netflix show, buying an item that I find useful or beautiful. But my fervent hope is that, more often than not, I’ll be contributing to a better world for myself and others by getting creative.

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Thanks for reading.

GOOD THINGS

Frankenstein. Guillermo del Toro’s new version on an Imax screen was a visual feast and a great escape. And I fell hard for the monster.

Outdoor “quieting”. Quieting is one of my favorite ways to change up the energy of my environment. With the advent of cooler weather beckoning me back outdoors, this week I hired help and applied it to my yard. Lots of power washing, repainting, and some landscaping. (Now if I could just outsmart the racoon that has decided to use my pool deck as its latrine, perfection will reign.)

Elections!