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Reflections on the Urge to Create
A Sermon Given
by Chris Patton
on July 11, 1999
at Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church
Bethesda, Maryland
Why create? Isn't there enough already? We are surrounded
by an excess of just about everything except quiet. So why create
more of anything?
In particular, why create music? Why compose something new
when there are thousands of serious composers today in the United
States alone, churning out reams of music: sonatas, fugues, operas,
symphonies, song cycles, etudes, preludes, choral works, chamber
music, concertos . . . almost weekly I learn of a new contemporary
composer whose work deserves my serious attention. Music critics
are forced to throw away hundreds of new CD's sent to them every
month simply because they don't have time to listen to them. Do
I really believe that I have something new and important to add to
this mountain of musical output?
I don't know if I do or I don't. The truth is that the question
is irrelevant. The urge to create is not reasonable. It does not
make sense. It is a human need. It is our longing for connection
with all that surrounds us. It comes from that place deep within us
where biology, chemistry, evolution, and spirituality all merge in
fertile darkness. It is our yearning for immortality. It is our
affirmation of life.
Because it is so important to us, a tremendous amount of myth
and superstition has grown up around the concept of creativity.
Many of these myths are in fact anti-creative. A particularly
pernicious notion is that creativity is the sole province of the gifted.
This is the attitude that either you have it or you don't, that God
has blessed a small minority of gifted individuals and that the rest
of us might as well not bother, because we'll just embarrass
ourselves. A surprising number of people subscribe to this notion
in some form or other. The concept of "talent" is in fact a
variation on this theme. Many parents seem to cherish the notion
of having a prodigiously "talented" child. Actually, in my
experience, many of the people making significant contributions to
our musical culture today, professional composers, performers,
directors and teachers, are people who, as children, would not have
been described as particularly gifted. Talent is not necessarily
helpful. When something comes easily to us, there are two
immediate negative results: we don't particularly value it, and we
don't learn how to work for it. No matter how talented one is,
sooner or later there comes a time when talent alone is not enough,
we must work and work incredibly hard to continue to succeed.
The later that moment comes, the less likely it is that we will
survive it. The really talented kids I knew in music school are
almost without exception now working in non-music careers. I
was lucky: I did not display a great deal of musical talent as a
child. When I was eight-years-old my piano teacher told my
parents that I had no sense of melody and a poor sense of rhythm,
and that they were wasting his time and their money on music
lessons for me. It took many years before I was able to get
beyond that, and to this day when I perform on the piano it is a
constant struggle to overcome my own self-doubts. It is not talent
that has kept me a composer for the last thirty years, but love.
Love of music and a willingness to work as hard and as long as is
necessary to get the job done.
So, although frequently confused with each other, creativity and
talent are not the same thing. Some human beings are born with
talent. All human beings are born creative. How can we tap this
creativity? Is there a formula we can follow? The people who
write and publish all the books, tapes and videos on how to be
more creative certainly want you to think so. But reading a book,
listening to a tape, and in particular watching a video are not in my
opinion good ways to become more creative. I believe there is a
recipe for creativity. It is the simplest recipe in the world. There
are no ingredients. The one absolute necessity for creativity is
nothing. Here is the recipe: Stop. Look. Listen.
Stop: Find a time in your day for doing nothing. Turn
off the radio. Turn off the phone (all of them- cellular, wireless, fax
and modem). In particular, turn off the television. Except for a rare
sports event, I no longer watch television. One of the great
liberating moments of my life was when I realized that even if I
missed an entire series of outstanding Masterpiece Theatre
episodes, it would have no negative consequences of any kind on
my life and person. In my opinion television, even good television,
is anti-creative. The less you watch it, the more opportunity you
will have for creativity. So, carve a niche in your day that is free
of distraction and interruption. Then . . .
Look: Examine your surroundings. Find something
beautiful and look at it very carefully and slowly. It can be a flower,
a tree, a leaf, or just a rock. Limiting what you look at to something
very simple can be helpful, as it reduces distraction. Our biggest task,
in fact our only task, is to overcome distraction, which is the
ultimate enemy to creativity. Once you have focused yourself
visually, close your eyes for a moment and . . .
Listen: Listen carefully to what is around you. Then,
listen even more carefully to what is within you. Listen deep. Be kind
to yourself. Do not judge what you hear, but accept it and
appreciate it for whatever it is. This will take practice and
discipline. There are many variations on this recipe, and they're all
good. By limiting your distracters, you may find that you are
looking and listening more, and that many moments of your day
start filling with an appreciation of the simple beauty that
surrounds us. That is my recipe for creativity. Will it make you
a better person? I have no idea. Will it make you a more efficient
worker? Probably not. It is a human need, and we ignore it at our
peril.
Creativity is not the domain of the gifted. It is the domain of
you. You are creative. It is important that you express your
creativity, not only because you have something special and unique
to say, but because it is our way of touching the infinite. The
ultimate enemy of creativity is distraction. Silence is its greatest
ally.
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