Nothing Extra Ordinary about it!

I am astounded at how astounded I am at paintings, innumerable paintings in a gallery amongst infinite galleries, their patrons, their creators. I am astounded that it still shocks me that there are artists painstakingly pouring their time, their soul into a piece of art. Their one among the many does not deter their conviction. It does not intimidate them enough to abandon their fancies, their so called talents amongst talents, to seek a sensible paying job, anything else but this. I am astounded these creatures are not few in number but span across in swarms in those galleries, those nameless names in book stores, those designers, those bakers, dancers, singers, those music bands, small business owners and the restaurants that crop up right next to another. They are different, they believe, they know their worth whether others do or don’t.

My belief at times, as I’m sure is the same with quite a few is that there is only room for so many. That there is a limit, a saturation point. There are some who think this to be true. But let this be their belief and not yours. Why must you work for them against yourself? If these thoughts or beliefs were fed there would not be any writers, businessmen or creative artists left in this world.

If that were to be, the brilliance of the authors, the painters of yore should have intimidated the Van Goghs, the Degas, the Homers, the Shakespeares, the Orwells, the Rockefellers, the Nat King Coles as they were educating themselves with fascinating literary works, reading about empires built by remarkable men, listening to transcendent music or feasting their eyes on what their times told them was the definition of exceptional. And they would never have bothered creating or if created sharing their work with the world as worthy of appreciation. If the generations after were to think that greatness has been exhausted then there would be no more works of prominence, no Picassos, no Rushdies, no Bill Gates, Beatles or Morrisons. The same goes for any idea whether it be art, business, industry or philosophy.

I am astounded that I still find it hard to accept that the world is full of people with so much inspiration and belief in themselves. That it hasn’t ceased trying. When will I believe it is never saturated? When will I believe we all have the freedom to persist to being our best. Be in awe as much as you please of their greatness but don’t be sure of your ordinariness. In fact don’t even think of the ordinary or the extraordinary when you do what you do. Be inspired. Don’t be lost in what is great and what is not. Don’t drown your creativity with such noise. Don’t worry about the perception or reception, of what people say or think. Do because it makes you happy. Applause is nice, criticism can be harsh, but don’t let either be the driving force behind what you do. Create because you must, because it defines you, it completes you, because it is you.