All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.
- J.R.R. Tolkien (speaking as Gandalf)

If you read my work on even a semi-regular basis, you will know that I’m pretty existentially aware (and if not, welcome :)). I think about the “big” questions like, “Why are we here?” “Where did we come from before we were born?” and “Where do we go when we die?” There are no definitively correct answers to these questions, of course. But this lack of direction gives you a chance to choose your own answers. Perhaps my favorite answer is the chance - no, the obligation - to create yourself.

You will hear plenty of people tell you why you are here, but there is really no owners’ manual for life. You burst into existence, stick around for a relatively minuscule period of time, then randomly disappear. And are completely forgotten shortly thereafter.

This is not cause for despair! On the contrary, it is a clarion call beckoning you to be whomever and whatever the hell you decide to be.

Who Do You Want To Be?

There are obviously a great many things that are predetermined for you: your physical body, where you were born, who your parents are and so on. But while we each inherit a unique starting point, we get to choose how to play those cosmic cards.

I believe that we each have a thread that runs through our lives, a theme that provides a measure of continuity even as we age, change careers, partners, locations. This theme doesn’t seem to me to be manifest destiny; more a subconscious nudge than predetermined fate.

I have friends who are warriors. They have always had a warrior’s spirit, a martial manner about them. This spirit animates the way they show up in the world, whether as parents or sportsmen or in their jobs as Navy SEALs. These people are by no means one-dimensional; they make music and read and play video games and have avocations like everyone else. But their other pursuits are secondary; distractions and appendices to their main purpose.

I have other friends who - like me - are creators. We are happiest, most at peace with ourselves when we are making something. We are musicians, writers, designers, painters, photographers. A creative spirit animates us, even when our lives find us working in intensive care units or coffee shops or boardrooms.

The Creative Life

Before long, we creators start to gravitate toward people, situations and careers that most closely approximate our inner longings, even if they are initially subtle. Creative types will move into circumstances that allow - or require - them to create.

These inclinations are not merely a matter of “finding a better job.” They are no less than the assignment of our lives’ meaning.

Remember, in the absence of a clearly predefined purpose, you have the freedom to choose your own. The happiest folks choose in congruence with their basic natures.

In many cases, however, the demands of external, physical life are at odds with inner proclivities. If your nature is that of a scientist, your day job as a physician or engineer will likely take care of your material needs while you exercise your true calling.

If you are a painter or musician, your life may well be one of finding a way to support yourself while you go on creating. Want to meet the finest actors you never heard of? Spend some time in the Sunset Boulevard Denny’s in Hollywood. Really.

But - if I may - creators gonna create. When you choose the creative life (or it chooses you), you will find you can still, for instance, employ the perception of a master while performing seemingly mundane tasks to keep food on the table.

Perception

Some of the most revered works of art are depictions of quite pedestrian events. Whether it is a book about life by a pond in Massachusetts (Thoreau) or a painting of the night sky (Van Gogh) or a composition about an art exhibition (Mussorgsky), the artist’s perception of a scene is far more important than the scene itself.

I have an aphorism that frequently occurs to me in this regard: “Artists don’t get bored.” The heart of an artist tunes the eye to see differently. A wait at a railroad crossing leads to an absolutely banging rock song based on the rhythm of the train over the tracks. A bowl of fruit has inspired many an impressive still life (see, for instance, Cézanne) and sunsets - daily events - fill the portfolios of photographers the world over.

The situation, when you choose the creative life, becomes self-perpetuating. Your perception transforms even the most pedantic happenings into fuel for your muse. And the closer you look, the more you see. Soon your notebook or sketchpad or score or recorder is full of ideas and now you can’t unsee (or un-hear) them.

But it takes more than an eye for inspiration to walk the path of the creator. It takes work. Lots of work.

Craft

When you choose to create yourself in the guise of the artist, the musician, the writer, you choose also a commitment to expressive excellence.

Ask a poet how many words she writes before anyone sees the result. Ask a first-chair violinist how many hours it took to sit in that hallowed position. The oft-expressed “10,000 hour rule” doesn’t even cover starting to become competent as a student.

I am compelled to relate my favorite quote from ‘cello master Pablo Casals. When asked why, at the age of 80, the maestro continued to practice for several hours each day, he replied, “Because I think I am making progress.”

Years of learning and practice and the ability to tolerate frustration are prerequisites for competency in any field. Add a further level of discipline and dedication and you can even become good at what you do.

But called to the creative life, your lot is to excel. Even the cleverest marketing will not long sustain your career unless your craft differentiates you from others in your chosen field.

Create Yourself

So the good news is that you can be whatever you want to be. Even better is the news that a life spent striving for excellence is a life full of meaning. A meaning that you choose.

To create yourself is to create your purpose. And purpose defeats even the most existential of anxieties.

I am a creator (musician, writer, live-streamer and podcaster), entrepreneur, educator and counselor. 

To learn more about how to use these concepts or to inquire about working with me, you can contact me through my website, the comments section on my Substack or Medium accounts or The Authentic Life Blog page. If you have found value in this article, you can follow my Instagram account for daily insights. To support this community, you can Buy Me A Coffee or donate through my Patreon account.



Subscribe to my River of Creation podcast - The Podcast for Creators, and my associated YouTube channel, coming later this year, wherever you download your podcasts.

- JWW