(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com and Steve’s Tumblr. Find out more at my newsletter.)
It’s easy to get depressed at the state of the world for many reasons. There’s a cloud that passes over us that makes everything look mechanical, inevitably clicking towards doomsday. When the world is a machine, we see no hope to survive the crises we face.
But then, when we get creative, making art or writing, the world becomes different. We see there are many possible futures. We see solutions to problems. The world has options, it’s organic, it’s alive – and the future can be shaped.
Something about creativity wakes us up, so we see the world more as the complex, many-faceted thing it is. It’s not just that we can imagine solutions; we’re operating differently. You can’t create mechanically, and creativity can also snap you out of mechanical thinking.
Of course, we might look at this rush and then ask “wait, can my creative abilities change the world?” It doesn’t matter – the state does.
This is important to remember – keeping this “organic” state of mind comes from our preferred creative acts. It could be drawing, it could be RPGs, it could be writing. There is no right way to get to this state, just your way.
Keep that mindset of the world being alive and I’m sure you’ll find a way to make a better future.
Steven Savage