A Masterpiece in Pieces

Note: This journal article was originally written in November 2023, months before I even got around to publishing my website and posting my first blog for the public.

I was on a walk with the dog today, thinking how I have taken a few days, maybe even over a week or so off from writing a blog post or recording a video or trying to intentionally create. Even though I know the off time was necessary and much needed, I still felt a little sad that I hadn't the inspiration or drive to sit down and create. 

This past week, I’ve sorta been feeling like the content I’m creating doesn’t really have a purpose, that it lacks direction, and that I’m feeling unsure of how to represent myself and my vibe online in a way that feels organic, natural, and authentic. Because I’ve been feeling this, I really haven’t gotten around to creating at all because I lost a bit of belief in myself.

Then I had this mini breakthrough that, even though I might not know the overarching big picture of what’s to come of all these little creations, that somehow it’s all a part of the greater whole. That I’m somehow:

“YOU’RE MAKING A MASTERPIECE, IN PIECES.”

And it occurred to me that this is what so many of us are doing. That, even though we’re not really sure why something calls to us in the beginning of starting something new, or why we choose one person as a partner over another, or why we make the decisions we do, is because creating something will lead to something, but it’s better than creating nothing, which will ultimately lead to nothing. 

I’ve been listening to the book “Creative Act” by Rick Rubin on Audible and he covers this idea of creativity being an act that has no goal, no purpose, no direction. That the beauty of creation is in the simple act of creating. It’s for the journey, not the destination. Cliché, I know right.

But as modern middle-aged humans in America, it can get really hard to focus on the now instead of the tomorrow. So much of our early years were spent thinking about due dates, test dates, upcoming games, future events, nearing holidays, that it almost seems it’s ingrained in our psyche to be programmed to care more about the destination instead of the journey; which ultimately can inhibit our creativity, halt our inspiration, and diminish our motivation, even when the mood strikes. 

Just remember that the whole picture will appear after consistency of putting in the work. It might be hard to zoom out now, but one day, the puzzle will start to fit together and the picture will become crystal clear.