UnOriginal
I've been having a tough time lately coming up with anything original. I'm noticing throughout the day these long spaces in time when I just don't say anything. I want to, but there's just nothing there to give. Nothing there to find and slap a nice price tag on for someone to buy.
More and more there seems to be this pressure to do something completely original, something unique or noteworthy. Maybe the "broadcast yourself" world we live in makes you want to try just a little harder. Do something that will make people take a step back. No a leap back, in awe of what a gift to the world you are.
It hurts to realize that most of my time is devoted to finding a way to make a name for myself. To push my talent, or at least what I think I do well.
Is being young part of it?
Not being able to come up with anything original though, also reveals how much we cling to what others say and do. We read authors and adopt what they say. We hear conversations on TV about politics and economics, and mimic them, piggyback their ideas thinking all the while to ourselves, "I could so do that better than they could!"
I could write that book.
I could make that album,
I could start that business.
But when I try...
Nothing. Totally unoriginal.
How do I make less of myself? How can I stop striving, to start... striving? I can't help but think that peace comes to those who quietly live, resting in something they haven't strived for themselves.
I just want to stop. Be content. End the race towards originality and a billboard with my face on it, and smile. Maybe say something like, "Hey, I'm Phil... Nice to meet you."
More and more there seems to be this pressure to do something completely original, something unique or noteworthy. Maybe the "broadcast yourself" world we live in makes you want to try just a little harder. Do something that will make people take a step back. No a leap back, in awe of what a gift to the world you are.
It hurts to realize that most of my time is devoted to finding a way to make a name for myself. To push my talent, or at least what I think I do well.
Is being young part of it?
Not being able to come up with anything original though, also reveals how much we cling to what others say and do. We read authors and adopt what they say. We hear conversations on TV about politics and economics, and mimic them, piggyback their ideas thinking all the while to ourselves, "I could so do that better than they could!"
I could write that book.
I could make that album,
I could start that business.
But when I try...
Nothing. Totally unoriginal.
How do I make less of myself? How can I stop striving, to start... striving? I can't help but think that peace comes to those who quietly live, resting in something they haven't strived for themselves.
I just want to stop. Be content. End the race towards originality and a billboard with my face on it, and smile. Maybe say something like, "Hey, I'm Phil... Nice to meet you."
posted by Philip Letizia at
1:20 AM
5 Comments:
I don't think so, 'cause I am old and I still occasionally struggle with the same thing.
It sounds to me like you are possibly breaking through to a higher level of spiritual maturity ... 'quietness', solitude and silence have always been considered classic spiritual disciplines.
Ecclessiates says its all been done before ... there is nothing new under the sun. Nothing is truely original ... that which is creative is that which comes from God ...
I have been meditating a lot on passages like "cease striving and KNOW that I am God"...
and
Jer. 30:15; "...in quietness and confidence is your strength ...
good post!
By
Joseph Holbrook, At
9:19 AM
I just told my roommate last night about this problem. There was a time when I had things to say and enthusiasm to spare, but mostly, now it's just quiet.
And that quiet feels so empty sometimes. Even if it's the right kind of empty.
By
Allie, Dearest, At
12:17 PM
Phil, You're on to something here. In the Youtube, Myspace, and Blog Era, people feel that they can have an identity only if they are publishing something for another person/community to peruse. "If I scream in a forrest and it's not on Facebook, do I really exist?" is the question of younger generations.
In the past, our main sources of identity consisted of three things: family ("my name is . . ."), job, and church. However, all three of these "institutions" are decentralized. No one really knows the significance of LaGuardia (unless they're from NY); no one cares about my job because jobs change everyday (if you're lucky to have one), and churches have lost their place of prestige in our culture.
The few places to have an "identity," then is to get published (book, blog, music, youtube video, etc.) This is a bad place for identity-building, though, because we are not truly vested in a "really real" community that holds us accountable to who we are in Christ and who we are becoming as physical (I'm a some-BODY not just an avatar) beings.
Interesting place to be, and it's getting more intriquing as younger and younger audiences tap into the internet as the main source of community.
By
Anonymous, At
2:55 PM
I'm up in Colorado this week for a songwriters conference and, ironically, Ecclessiates has been the major source of my devo's this week.
I've had the opportunity this week to talk with songwriters who have been in the industry for 30+ years- and every single one of them has confessed that they still face the "there is no new truth" demon EVERY time they pick up their pen. These are writers who have had major hits cut with all the big CCM names...
Their advice: you can't repaint the canvas, but you can put it in a new frame.
While it doesn't fix the problem, it definitely makes me feel better that people far better at this craft are still haunted with the fearful thought "that's the last song I'll ever be able to write" with every song they complete.
Be encouraged, brother. The enemy would love for you to give up, but you can display and re-tell the old story of redemption uniquely- like only Phil Letizia can tell it because you're the only one who's truly walked in your shoes or seen life through your lens.
Sorry to be long winded- it's just been on my mind this week too...
By
Ryan B, At
4:32 PM
I just want to stop, too.
Great words.
By
hootenannie, At
11:03 AM
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