Skipping stones
“When Alexander the Great visited Diogenes and asked whether he could do anything for the famed teacher, Diogenes replied: ‘Only stand out of my light.’ Perhaps some day we shall know how to heighten creativity. Until then, one of the best things we can do for creative men and women is to stand out of their light.” – John W. Gardner
Often it seem like when I publish my creative works that there is no telling how well they might do. Much like a flat rock thrown out over a lake, these works might carve neatly into the water or they might skip twenty times.
I have put things out there I was sure would get people talking and no one even checked it out. Oh! It is almost painful. Other times, something strikes the water right and people enjoy it. It is exhilarating!
Focal Length
Just as a photograph can have one portion in focus and the rest blurred, so too do we focus too much on the immediate impact and forget that we are really supposed to be concerned about the long-term trend. Google Analytics is something I check far too often and foolishly put too much stock into. The numbers can’t measure my improvements as an artist, only the length of my immediate reach.
I feel bad for those that forget that creative works of a high caliber are timeless. Too many have thrown away their sketchbooks, deleted their blogs, and put away their instruments because the immediate impact wasn’t what they wanted. I want people to be able to witness the trend of my work getting better over time. To see themes revisited. To feel like they walked the journey with me.
“Humanity can be quite cold to those whose eyes see the world differently.” – Eric A. Burns
Van Gogh
Poor Vincent suffered so much, some for his art, some for his illness, some for his loneliness. Yet now, he has reached countless numbers with only his art. We can look at his works—and though it is too late to offer any tranquility to him—we are able to help the stone of his legacy bounce into the next generation.
We can offer that same thing to the creatives we meet in this life, either online or not. We can keep their reach expanding. We can even do one better! We can offer feedback and encouragement.
“Once we rid ourselves of traditional thinking we can get on with creating the future.” — James Bertrand