Reaction to Creativity

I can't sleep again.  If jet lag could have a flashback, then perhaps that's my body's reaction, or it's the season where the bubbles of "to be written" simmer under the surface and choose to haunt or bless me until the wee hours of the morning.  

Speaking of jet lag and flashback, thank you to every one who supporte d us in our recent trip to the MTV Asia Awards.  Many warm moments were shared with new and old friends.  

It was awesome.  Thank you.

I was speaking to my friend, who's a fantastic artist, probably one of my favorite in town, post sunset.  Not only is he a gifted artist, but time after time, I'm convinced that he could very easily have a radio talk show, write a book, or just simply have therapy sessions for folks like myself to direct them through the kooky traffic of "why we create" and state the clear purpose of it all.  What it means, the importance of the actual process, the rise and fall of the sharing, and why we continue.  Blessing or curse, we keep doing what we do.

Anyways, one topic of discussion in the conversation, spawned from a documentary I recently watched on Van Dyke Parks, a composer, arranger, and songwriter based in Los Angeles.  He is most known for his lyrical collaboration with genius Brian Wilson in his work "SMiLE", which was put away for four decades and recently finished and recorded.  Schizophrenic and beautiful music comes from this man's mind, and he embraces the madness.  One of the finest moments of the documentary, in which Frank Ciampi and I share a fascination with, is Van Dyke and Randy Newman talking about considering themselves failures for sticking to their guns, yet never having a "hit" song.  This was mind blowing to hear from two of the most talented and respected writers of my era.  

Anyways, the most intriguing bit comes when Van Dykes speaks of this thing we call "creativity".  It was humbling.  He speaks of reacting.  He reacts when he scores a film.  He reacts to something when he writes a song.

To me, this is profound, and incredibly humbling.  I think Chuck Klosterman had a similar chapter on this.  What does it mean?  

I may go and say I create, or that I'm a creative person but really... 

I may be just reacting.  

Reacting to memories.  Reacting to the colors.  Reacting to love.  Reacting to her.  Reacting to the world around me...

Only true creativity, pure creativity, may lie in the gallery around us.  

See it in the blue canvas in the sky, dotted with clouds. 

Hear it in the bird songstress, and the chatter.  

Feel it in the something that came from nothing.  

***

I didn't create that.  I merely react to it.