There is this old episode of Dexter's Lab where he somehow wanders into the very depths of the lab and comes across some of his old inventions. We go into this flash back of him holding up each of the items around him and proclaiming, "This is my greatest invention EVER!" After this exclamation of awe, he cast each item aside and move on to the next invention, which would be his best, ever. Needless to say, the discarded inventions are pissed.
Like with any motivating drive, the need to create, while very important, can be taken to extremes. When we allow our drive to create to run unchecked, we can cause a lot of messes, hurt others, ourselves, and end up finding ourselves functioning, instead, as a force of destruction.
Creation comes at a cost. It takes resources. We cannot (most of us, anyway) create something from nothing. Any time we are creating, we are using up resources from one place or another. Every dress takes material, thread, time, energy. Every baby takes time and the physical resources of the mother. Each piece of art takes mental preparation, materials, time, space, and energy.
This isn't really a bad thing so long as we keep it in mind. We cannot hold ourselves above the reality of creation. It takes from us and from the world around us. If our creation will be an improvement on things, then it is, of course, perfectly well and good to create. If our creation will not contribute in some manner that justifies the resources it used, then we should think about limiting our creation.
Of course, much of this is based on our own judgement. The benefit received from creation is very subjective. Some people may view wasting paper to shape it into folded origami to be a waste of time. Others find origami to be a wonderful form of both art and relaxation.
Even with ample resources, our creative drive should still be tempered. When we create, it should be for a purpose. Again, this is very subjective. I guess I would say it doesn't matter so much what your purpose is, so long as you have one. It's also important that you give this consideration to each act of creation.
As I have mentioned before, I knit. I tend to knit a lot of hats, of which I wear about . . . well, two or three. The rest of them sit around, waiting to be worn or to be unwound and knitted into something else. Honestly, I shouldn't have that waiting pile. If I'm not wearing the hat, I should unravel it and use the yarn resource for something else. Even if the yarn is busted, I can use it for practicing techniques I've yet to master. However, like with Dexter's "greatest inventions ever," to simply knit and knit and knit with no real purpose is an abuse of creation.
It isn't just the wasting of resources that makes this important. Creation comes at a cost, but it also comes with responsibilities. When we create or facilitate creation, we are assuming an obligation for what we create. It is in the world because of us, our actions, our desires, our use of resources. Because of this, we have a certain responsibility to this creation and to what becomes of it, what it becomes.
As I've been really into using animation as examples of this, I'll reference My Dog Tulip. We spend a great deal of the movie dealing with our narrator trying to get his dog bred. Several attempts are made to find her a mate, almost all of which end in disaster. However, the narrator continues, over and over again, to make this happen. He calls people, meets with them, has the dog over to their house. He meets other people. He travels to stay with his sister, all because he wants his dog to have puppies. A great deal of time and effort, gas, money, and other resources go towards his drive for creation.
When the puppies are born, he freaks out and realizes he can't handle them. He actually considers drowning them. Even though he doesn't go through with that, he still admits that he "didn't do right" in finding good lives for them. He just gives them away to whomever and never gives them another thought. All of that effort put into creation, and then so little responsibility given to what he ends up creating.
If you create something, you are responsible for it. If it is something like a meal or a hat, that responsibility isn't so huge. If that creation is another person, then your commitments are long term and very serious. We should never create another life unless we are fully prepared to take on the obligations this entails. Creation is primary and it is fundamental to who and what we are, but it is also very, very serious.
We're powerful beings. We can use the most minute of things, the most unassuming materials, and create things that can inspire generations so far removed from ours we can't even fathom them. We can clothe ourselves to keep warm, we can make meals that people crave for years past when they consumed the meal, and we can create new little humans who have our eyes or our smile.
The point of being powerful, however, is that you learn to use your power in a responsible manner. You make decisions about what you will create. You decide if it is worst the cost. You decide if it is needed. Most importantly, you decide if you are prepared to handle what having this creation in existence will mean for you and for the creation. Use your power wisely.
No comments:
Post a Comment