Creating Archives - Page 21 of 21

Making Meaning vs. Finding It

February 3, 2013 by Joycelyn Campbell 2 Comments

Sometimes I think the difference between making (creating) meaning and finding it is the difference between reality and wishful thinking. Sometimes I think it divides the non-believers from the believers. And sometimes I think it might be nothing more than a matter of semantics.

The idea of finding meaning implies to me that meaning, although intangible, is inherent in situations, circumstances, relationships, events, and things. It comes pre-loaded, so to speak, as a hidden file, and it’s our job to locate, download, and access it. As I’ve written before, this sort of thing is not a game I’m particularly interested in playing. It’s like a metaphysical scavenger hunt. And the huge question it raises is if meaning is inherent, by what means did it become part of the stuff of our human lives? This view of meaning pretty much implies the existence of an extra-human force or being as creator of the game of life we all must play.

The Meaning of Our Individual Lives

Both James Hillman, a Jungian psychologist, and Viktor Frankl, an existentialist–as two examples–were convinced there is a reason for our existence and that we are responsible to that reason.

From The Souls’ Code by James Hillman:

Each person enters the world called.

[This book] does speak to the feelings that there is a reason my unique person is here and that there are things I must attend to beyond the daily round and that give the daily round its reason, feelings that the world somehow wants me to be here, that I am answerable to an innate image, which I am filling out in my biography.

You are born with a character; it is given; a gift, as the old stories say, from the guardians upon your birth.

From Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl, who survived several years in Auschwitz:

[M]an is a responsible creature and must actualize the potential meaning of his life.

I think the meaning of our existence is not invented by ourselves, but rather detected.

The majority…consider themselves accountable before God; they represent those who do not interpret their own lives merely in terms of a task assigned to them but also in terms of the taskmaster who has assigned it to them.

There are those who believe God has very specific plans for them. There are those who believe they are being directed by spirit or the universe to travel particular paths in life and to have certain experiences. The idea that everything happens for a reason may be their attempt at accepting unpleasant circumstances by assigning meaning to them, even if that meaning isn’t yet know. They are all are entitled to their views, of course, and the meaning they find in their lives. But obviously not everyone is religious or even spiritual. Not everyone believes in the existence of a “taskmaster” to whom we are responsible.

I don’t mean to deny the considerable mystery surrounding our existence. To the contrary, I see much that is mysterious and am glad for the mystery. I don’t know all there is to know, and neither does anyone else. Perhaps there actually are celestial guiding forces at work in our lives pushing or urging us in one direction or another.

On the other hand, what if life is empty and meaningless?

More next time.

Creating: Making Things Up

January 31, 2013 by Joycelyn Campbell 1 Comment

Sky Woman from Earth on Turtle's Back — Sky Woman from Earth on Turtle’s Back (Photo credit: patentboy)

We are all creative. We must be because we all create. We all make things up. Each day we create thoughts, ideas, meals, impressions, relationships, goals, deals, situations, and objects of all types, shapes, and sizes. We create sadness, happiness, love, peace, violence, and everything in between. We create order out of chaos and chaos out of order. Occasionally we create works of art. To an extent, we create ourselves: each of us is a work in progress.

Sometimes the acts of creation are haphazard and sometimes they are well-thought-out, well-planned, intentional acts. It’s a little bit easier to be intentional about creating when we know that’s what we’re doing. I think one reason we sometimes have a limited view of creation is because we think it only applies to such things as art or music. Maybe we assume you have to have some special ability to create things. Maybe we also assume there is always intention behind creation. But these thoughts or concepts just obscure the reality that we are always in the process of creating something.

Creation is essentially a form of communication. It is how we express our authentic selves in the world. There is a Native American view that each of us possesses original medicine, meaning that we each have something original to contribute to the world. If we’re willing to experiment, to make a mess, to explore both the inner and the outer world, we can better determine what it is that we have to contribute and how we might make our contributions.

Holding back out of fear, false modesty, or an unwillingness to make a mess doesn’t serve us or those around us. Moving forward in the middle of the mess, the uncertainty, and the lack of guarantees is just the way of being in the world, of fully participating. And, really, what else is there to do?

Creativity

January 27, 2013 by Joycelyn Campbell 3 Comments

Dancing Girl (Photo credit: Just Mary Designs)

Creativity is not efficient. She has a different relationship to time than most of us. A minute can last a day and a day can last an hour. She loves all the seasons. She is on intimate terms with the sun and the moon. It is New Year’s all year long at her house, what with celebrations for the Celtic, Hebrew, Tibetan, Chinese, Japanese, and other New Years too numerous to mention. Creativity loves to gossip with the birds and put on her masks and beads and dance with the animals. Although bright colors amuse her, she most often wears neutral tones. She is especially partial to off-white.

Some people consider Creativity selfish because she does what she wants I have always found her to be gracious and most generous. She is certainly complex. If you have only met her in a serene mood, her flair for drama may offend you. She is not your aunt with the porcelain teapot who plays chamber music. If you are one of those people who only go to see her when she is starring in a major melodrama, you will not hear her rain songs. If you insist she is mad, you will never see how still her face is when she returns from a dream.

Sometimes Creativity disappears completely or wanders around the back alleys for weeks at a time. She has a strong need to be occasionally anonymous. If you run into her at the post office line during one of these periods, you will probably not recognize her. She is in a different place. It is almost as if her blood has slowed down. When the blank period is over, Creativity brings her free self home with her. Her skin is new. She is ready to work. More than anyone else, Creativity understands the secret meanings of the months when nothing seems to get done.

J. Ruth Gendler, The Book of Qualities

The Book of Qualities is a beautiful little book that portrays human qualities as characters and gets to the heart of each of them. The assorted qualities Gendler brings to life also make a great journaling keyword list, too.

More on creativity next time!

Living, Aging, and Creating

January 17, 2013 by Joycelyn Campbell 1 Comment

A dozen quotes to ponder, laugh over, or even use as journal writing prompts.

I kept thinking there’s bound to be something else. I could hear it sometimes, but I couldn’t play it. – Charlie Parker

For many people, reality is an acquired taste. At first glance, you may have uncomfortable and disturbing experiences. – Robert Fritz

I left myself, drove all night without stopping, called myself from a phone booth to say I was sorry it had to be this way. – Sy Safransky, “The Sun” magazine

If you are lucky enough to find a way of life you love, you have to find the courage to live it. – John Irving

Who I am is just the habit of what I always was, and who I’ll be is the result. – Louise Erdrich, “I’m a Mad Dog Biting Myself for Sympathy.”

He closed his eyes. He was aware of so much, and it all escaped him. – David Plante, “The Woods”

We outlive ourselves. We look back and recognize no one. – Joyce Carol Oates, “Childwold”

If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are headed. – Lao Tzu

It is common sense to take a method and try it; if it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something. – Franklin D. Roosevelt

If you have a talent, use it in every which way possible. Don’t hoard it. Don’t dole it out like a miser. Spend it lavishly like a millionaire intent on going broke. – Brendan Behan

A person dies for the first time at the age when he loses his enthusiasm. – Honoré de Balzac

If you prepare for old age, old age comes sooner. – Dr. Robert Anthony

Creating

December 30, 2012 by Joycelyn Campbell Leave a Comment

Michelangelo is quoted as having said:

Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.

It’s unlikely anyone reading those words would conclude that Michelangelo meant there is an actual statue that already exists inside each block of stone that anyone who is really looking for it could discover. The statue he would have discovered in a particular block of stone would undoubtedly not be the same statue another sculptor—Rodin, for example—would have discovered in it. Not being a sculptor, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have discovered anything other than more stone inside the block of stone.

Michelangelo, an exceptional artist who created many exquisite works, was describing the way he saw the material he worked with. No one else saw exactly what he saw. No one else created what he created. He didn’t simply hack away at a piece of marble with whatever tool happened to be at hand looking for what he might find inside it. He did what he did with skillfulness, with attention, and with intention. He devoted himself to creating works of art that he wanted to create and that we still want to look upon.

We each have our own set of tools and materials—skills, abilities, talents, inclinations, experiences, passions, and drives—from which to create. We can use them to hack (or chip) away at life or we can use them with skill, with attention, and with intention.

We can either keep searching for a pre-existing statue inside our piece of stone or we can create something from the stone.

The Meaning of Our Individual Lives

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