![\"growth-stasis\"](\"http:\/\/crafttheshow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/growth-stasis-153x300.jpg\")
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On my drive into work this morning, I was listening to the amazing Vienna Teng<\/a>\u00a0song \u201cGoodnight, New York<\/a>,\u201d which has these lines:<\/p>\n I\u2019ll see you all on the other side It got me thinking about the difference between stasis and motion. Are we living out Bill\u2019s \u201cTo thine own self be true\u201d or are we always becoming something else?<\/p>\n I can see it either way. Even though the lines are spoken by Polonius, a character whose best use is as sword storage, there\u2019s value to the idea of maintaining your core values, your true inner self. This is the cry of idealistic youth watching their heroes sell out. You hear it behind every use of a punk song to sell beer or cars, after every art masterpiece licensed to hawk shoes. Most ironically, it\u2019s heard when certain businesses proclaim that they \u201cstick to their core principles,\u201d since these principles might seem to be simply “stick it to the customer.” (Hello? Time Warner?)<\/p>\n As I get older (I\u2019ve mentioned that I\u2019m 23 now?), I’m increasingly persuaded by the idea that we’re always becoming, always intaking new data and comparing it against existing structures to see what impact it has on our perceptions. As columnist Sydney J Harris said<\/a>, \u201cBeing yourself is not remaining what you were, or being satisfied with what you are. It is the point of departure.\u201d<\/p>\n Finding points of departure was one of the reasons that I started this blog and the radio show. Although I\u2019d interviewed artists and writers for years, Craft<\/em> represented a break with certain kinds of interviews and the welcoming of others. No more interviews with people who didn\u2019t want to be interviewed. (One of my worst interviews was with an academic who confessed to being terrified of being interviewed and who showed no apparent interest in her area of study. Awesome.) No more interviews with people who didn\u2019t engage creativity.<\/p>\n This last sentence may seem harsh, but it\u2019s perhaps softened by the realization that I know I can fall into the uncreative category. Every time I end the show with the admonition, \u201cBe creative,\u201d I feel a little like Polonius. How can I not have something more creative to say?<\/p>\n When I said something like that to an artist friend, she responded with \u201cYOU CAN BE ARTISTIC. DON’T RUN FROM IT.\u201d (You know how those creative types like to use all caps.) Maybe it\u2019s time I buy a beret?<\/p>\n So where are you? In your life are you becoming something or are you already there? Are you in process or completed? First person to comment gets 5 books from the Craft<\/em> library.<\/p>\n Still here?\u00a0Don’t forget to send me your ideas for the Halloween show<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On my drive into work this morning, I was listening to the amazing Vienna Teng\u00a0song \u201cGoodnight, New York,\u201d which has these lines: I\u2019ll see you all on the other side After I am a different man with different eyes It … Continue reading
\nAfter I am a different man with different eyes<\/p>\n