Something From Nothing

     I don't really think I have anything profound to say today. I'm not sure I ever do. If I'm to be completely honest the last thing I want to do today is write. Yet here I sit, typing away at my keyboard and trying to form some kind of cogent thought. That's something anyway. You don't hear much about this side of creative work, about the hard work times or the nothing comes to mind times. Really though it's there where the real artistry and the real passion shows. It's not just something you do, it's something you kind of have to do. Something is stirring inside you and even when you can't seem to reach it you've got to do … something.

     Writing especially I've seen seems to always come down to the slog. You love it, you love every knuckle cracking keystroke or hand numbing pen scratch but sometimes you are just pushing forward like Sisyphus. The blank page taunts you from your notebook or your typewriter or you computer screen. El Diablo Blanco. Sometimes it's like trying to save someone from a pit and your fingers can't quite reach so you push and you strain for one more inch, one more sentence.

     Yet there are times when the work disappears. There are times when all your words and all your tapping of keys fades away and the world you're building springs up around you. There are times when your thoughts flow directly onto the page and it's like music. Those times are rare though and you can't live in them forever, but they keep you going.

     I love to write. I love forming sentences and phrases, putting my thoughts together like Lincoln Logs or Lego bricks until they form something wonderful. If I don't like it, I can take it apart and rearrange or even start all over. Putting things into words, into words on a page, makes them more than just errant thoughts. Thoughts become propositions which become arguments which become beliefs. I have through my words the chance to not only influence others but the opportunity to examine myself. To work through my own beliefs and thoughts and dreams and tear them apart for inconsistencies. It provides for me a means of self examination and reflection that is more structured and useful than simply 'thinking' about things. It's been said that whatever you don't teach you forget and I suppose that's what I mean. Simply believing something is fine but having to write it down and explain it in a way that makes sense really forces you to codify what you believe and work it out.

     Maybe I didn't say anything terribly interesting today. Maybe I never do, but I'm not sure I can describe how much better I feel now that I've written … something. My mind has chewed on thoughts and words and I've produced a something that wasn't there before. Spend some time today if you can on whatever is inside you. Stare at that blank page and start typing, start writing, start scribbling until you make your something and I'll bet you'll feel a million times better than before. Don't give up because “it's hard” or “you don't feel like it” or “You can't think of anything.” Being a creator -a maker- is more than just having something else pull you along; you have to pursue your loves and find them for yourself. Don't let your something stay nothing.