So if everything is destined for oblivion, why create at all?
“We build our legacy piece by piece, and maybe the whole world will remember you, or maybe just a couple of people, but you do what you can to make sure you’re still around after you’re gone.”
Source: A Ghost Story (2017)
The desire to be remembered is deeply human. From the cave paintings of our forgotten ancestors, to the fleeting online posts today. The instinct endures, connecting us through the centuries of our humanity.
Maybe you’ve noticed it in yourself once or twice. Maybe you’ve etched your initials on a tree’s bark, or snapped a lonely photo on a quiet afternoon. Maybe you’ve sensed it in family photographs, or glimpsed it in the art of grandpa’s house.
It is human to want to remain a little longer. This instinct comes from an impossible desire to cheat death, even if only for a while.
But what happens if this instinct takes over our creative pursuits? What if we create mostly to chase likes and comments? Do we appease the algorithm at any cost? Do we sacrifice the truth for mass appeal?
How much of our voice will remain authentic? How much will we omit in fear of retaliation? What cloaks will we wear for the sake of admiration?
“This rehearsal will end, the performance will end, the singers will die, eventually the last score of the music will be destroyed in one way or another; finally the name ‘Mozart’ will vanish, the dust will have won.”
Source: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1968)
Even if we’ve done it. Even if we’ve finally made it. Years of dedication finally meets luck. We write the best-seller —it’s in every bookstore for years to come. We make that movie, and it becomes a cultural sensation. We sing, and millions listen in awe. Even if we become the stars we admire.
Time will still pass.
Our days will turn into years, our years into decades. Our time will run out, and soon enough we will arrive at our ultimate destination. Our ancestors met the same fate, and so will our descendants. We will all exit through that same door.
Time turns everything into dust. It will steal every memory and separate every lover. The leading theories in science tell us that on a long enough timeline, the entire universe —and every atom in it— will die. That’s why it’s simply futile to create for the sake of legacy.
You might find yourself wondering – if everything is destined to oblivion, why create at all?
Well.. maybe something deep within you yearns to be known. A part of you that speaks in cryptic dreams or awakens as you encounter resonance. Perhaps like Jung you must journey towards the center, your creativity is your path to self-discovery.
Or maybe you see something they cannot. Perhaps in you lives what they need – a thought that demands expression, colors that must meet, an image waiting to emerge, or a tone that only you could hear. Like Michelangelo you see the angels in the stone waiting to be set free.
Or maybe when you engage in the creative process, you enter another state. Time slows, thoughts quiet – you are present! Perhaps like buddhist monks making sand mandalas, creativity is your meditation.
Or perhaps in creation you rebel! You reject the status quo, defy the Man, and scream “this is wrong”! You believe something new must be born. Like Pink Floyd you chant “we don't need no education” and you become a voice of a generation!
So create.
Create for the beauty,
create for the meaning,
create for the feeling,
create for the idea.
Create because it’s simply human to create!
***
To Explore Further:
Ghost Story 2017 - House Guest Monologue - watch here.
Cave Paintings - read about here.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - read about here.
Heat Death of the Universe - read about here.
Carl Jung Red Book - read about here.
Buddhist Sand Mandalas - watch a short documentary here.
Another Brick in the Wall by Pink Floyd - watch/listen here.
