Perspective in The Pain

Our creativity, no matter how serious or outlandish, is the overflow of our perspective. We have one. One dominant lens we view the world around us through.

It's shaped by many things: faith, politic, family, idols, culture, history, wounds, personality, decisions, friends, education etc.

This is why it's so important to shift perspective, if only for a moment, for a taste of someone else's journey, belief, feeling and experience.

And to shift perspective patiently, with grace and a desire for truth.

Art expresses the best of us and the worst of us. It's often explosive with emotion. And it's usually rooted in elements of truth. Is yours? Are you willing to do the gritty work of teasing out the truth behind the art you feel compelled to make? To shift perspective with another human, another policy position, another source of news, another social club, another culture, another way of being, another faith...

Life is bigger and brighter because of it.

There's hope in the rubble of a freshly chiseled statue, isn't there?

Hope in seeing the block of stone with fresh eyes and a solid foundation.

Hope in hearing the story behind the statue with a healthy vision for the future.

Hope in cleaning up the rubble for the next story, statue and song.

Hope in adding another dimension of life, faith and creativity to our perspective.

Who knows, standing in another's shoes or sitting in their pile of ash, we might just get a better look at the person, artist, creative that we are and draw closer to the creative we dream of becoming. I don't know about you, but from this angle I've got a lot to learn, but also a lot share as well.