Originals of the Species

Wednesday 19 March 2008

I could eat this book for lunch and still only need a light dinner. It speaks not only to creativity in the sense of creating art, but also of art in the sense of creating a life. A life spent creatively. It's yummy yummy in my tummy.

Young artists easily fall into the trap of confusing originality with newness. Originality does not mean being unlike the past or unlike the present; it means being the origin, acting out of your own center. Out of your spontaneous heart you may do something reminiscent of the very old, and it will be original because it will be yours. Under the spell of wanting to appear original, you may end up rejecting your first thoughts and dredging up something far out - not yourself. (If we try for the Tao, the koan goes, we move away from it.) Yet the first thoughts are the ones that, by definition, are the inspired ones. Just stay with the obvious and humdrum. Because you are the unique product of evolution, culture, environment, fate, and your own quirky history, what is obvious and humdrum to you is guaranteed to be thoroughly original. The great scientific, artistic, and spiritual discoveries generally involved some breathtaking piece of obviousness that everyone else had heretofore been too scared or too hidebound by conventional wisdom to see or imagine. Some unwieldy, overcomplicated thought structure, like the epicycles of mediaeval astronomy, comes crashing down to reveal a synthesis so simple "a child could have thought of it."

Paradoxically, the more you are yourself, the more universal your message. As you develop and individuate more deeply, you break through into deeper layers of the collective consciousness and the collective unconsciousness. There is no need to alter your voice in order to please others, and no need to alter it in order to differentiate yourself from others. Quality arises from, and is recognized by, resonance with inner truth. Hence the famous prayer of Socrates: "Beloved Pan and all ye other gods who haunt this place, give me beauty in the inward soul; and may the outward andinward man be one."
Free Play: Improvisation in Life and Art - Stephen Nachmanovitch

Confessional: I wish I could watch U2 videos without taking it into the bedroom of my mind. Yes, I do. Amen.


9 comments

  1. "Originality does not mean being unlike the past or unlike the present; it means being the origin, acting out of your own center. Out of your spontaneous heart you may do something reminiscent of the very old, and it will be original because it will be yours. Under the spell of wanting to appear original, you may end up rejecting your first thoughts and dredging up something far out - not yourself."

    Is this not so friggin absolutely true?

    Also, from the first time I heard HTDAAB this song was my favorite. I'm gettin excited thinking about some new original U2 music...(control yourself now Sue) I always love seeing what they come up with next.

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  2. Is is friggin so absolutely true :) It annoys me. I do it with writing.

    Yes, I'm getting rather excited too about some new stuff. I think Miracle Drug was my favourite but this song is pretty cool. It reminds me of you, now :)

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  3. There is an awesome story of redemption behind it that was playing out when this video was released...as you know.

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  4. Id forgotten how good this song is!
    I know he's getting on a bit, the old Bono, but he still has "it" mmmmm mmmmm

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  5. Kent - I've forgotten that story. Tell us a story, Uncle Kentster *sits down and crosses legs and looks expectantly*

    Or at least, provide a link to previously told story :)

    Andi - yes, he most certainly does have it still. Mmmmm mmmmm :) I love this version of this clip - there's quite a few of them - because he's taken those damn glasses off and is standing vulnerable and I loves that.

    I miss my Sims 1 game whre I had that giant house with that Bono skin I downloaded. Remember that? That was fun :) I might load 1 back on and play that. Samantha should be able to cope with that graphical intensity

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  6. Sue, it was a personal story I shared with you through an email...it's not for public consumption. Rememeber?

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  7. Oh, your own story. I thought you were referring to a story surrounding the making of the video by the band.

    Yes, I remember your own story and this is why I love music. Because I attach that story to my hearing of this song, and it makes me feel all lovely and warm. I also attach your encouragement of me to be myself to this song, and it makes it even more special. I love the multilayeredness of songs, and how you add memories and experiences to a song and it becomes richer and richer as you go.

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  8. it sure does.

    The song screams, as Bono says: DON'T BE A SLAVE TO FAKE. WE WANT EVERYTHING YOU'VE GOT AND NOTHING THAT YOU'RE NOT.

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  9. Yes. I feel amost euphoric when I'm right in the Susie mould and feeling grateful to be me. What a place of absolute power ... even though paradoxically I think I've got there by laying it all down. The paradoxes never end, bro

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