Nature is the base layer of this world. Planet Earth is 71% water to start with.
Yet the majority of our day is spent sitting on, and even walking on concrete.
In our Most Creative Work, free-form expression is the base layer. This is the doodles, the songs that have no start or ending. The “vomit draft” that writers often speak of. This is your inner nature as an artist.
Radio, television and the publishing industry required some sort of structure for everyone to get behind. The music was written so that it would fit neatly onto the side of a 45 rpm record.
Books are either shrunk down and edited to a manageable size, or in the case of non-fiction, fluffed up to look smart and substantial between a hardcover.
I am ok with the structure, I even put “win a Grammy” on my lifelong goals list for fun. Always look for some constraints or goalposts when you can.
But this message is here to remind you that the industry is not the same thing as the substance of your work.
Start Your Sessions in Freeform, Floating Like the Cosmos
Try to start your work sessions in a way that is liberating to you, to remember that your self-worth does not depend on being included in the mass media.
Free-writing with Morning Pages is one of the easiest ways to tap into this mindset.
Ironically, the world of podcasting and YouTube allows this free-form creation. There is no level of standard required to upload your content, as long as it doesn’t violate some commonly shared values.
If you want to upload 30 minutes of silence with just a white background, then you can do that.
The web is a blank canvas that is reflecting back what is on our minds.
While the algorithm stresses many people out from different angles, you don’t have to see it that way, but more as a bunch of images and videos just passing by while you take a coffee break.
And back to the job you go, chipping away at your Most Creative Work.
Yes, we can and must always "begin again" and "play better" - so it flows, as goes nature. This is the practice. Our most creative work is dynamic, a mercurial work in progress. To echo William James, [ creativity / curiosity / spirit / nature ] is in fact "ever not quite" / great post