032. Unfamiliar Path
When I look at how long I have left, a part of me feels like letting go.
Searching my mind daily for coherent thoughts has definitely been a challenge. Especially now, when my interactions with the outside world are few and limited - the places where inspiration struck have become a challenge to reach.
For some time now, I have believed that much of the human experience is spent trying to do the same thing - trying to make sense of a random and chaotic existence. Every song, movie, book, artwork or discovery since the dawn of time all carry the same underlying message, each form of media just has its own way of delivering the same message.
Earlier today, I was reading an article where the author talks about the death of thinking from a sociopolitical, and economic lens. It echoed this sentiment that many who might have been deterred from, or against all odds chose, the pursuit of a creative degree have experienced.
I'm sure the idea of a starving artist is not foreign to anyone. When those of us who wanted to pursue careers in the creative sector were younger, I am certain many of us were asked how we expected to support ourselves. In many households across the world, doctors, lawyers and engineers, were the ones worthy of praise. Anything else was considered a risk or a pathway towards the life of a starving artist. So, from early ages, many of us learnt to stop wanting anything that wasn't guaranteed to feed us.
Years later, technological advancements are soon to make those professions that were once deemed secure, obsolete. The arts are under threat too but, for much longer than most, creatives have lived knowing the odds they were up against - that security never existed.
The trialled and tested formula that worked for medicine and law didn't quite apply in creative spheres. There were no textbooks that could give step-by-step instructions for success. One of my tutors from university often said, 'you cannot teach ideas, only execution'.
The traditional career paths did not require your ideas, only your ability to execute. Without ideas, the creative paths would lead nowhere. However, today many of us have gone through life without the ability to nurture ideas, lacking faith in our own ideas as they could put us at the risk of being yet another starving artist.
Because it was unfamiliar, we were deterred. However, nothing new ever came from following the same path but, discovery lies on the unfamiliar path.
With every advancement our societies have endured, there have always been career paths annihilated. One thing that stays the same is that things will always change. For much our lives, we traded thinking for training. Instead of learning how to nurture and execute our ideas, we practiced the ideas that were once trialled and tested. Now, the tests are changing, and we are left to imagine new ideas that will survive the trials.
So, looking at how long I have left, it is definitely intimidating. But, 35% of the way through is far from nothing. I am proud of how far I have come, and I look forward to discovering what lies ahead on this path.
Dear reader, the only thing we know for certain in this life is that one day, it will end for us all. So, don't be afraid to try something that feels unfamiliar and when you do, make sure you try your best because at the end of the day, it is all that we can do.
