Being Creative Without Purpose

Hi, my name is Jason ... and I'm an addict.  I realized this the other day, and also realized that a good many creatives (or want-to-be creatives) are in a similar situation.

What's the addiction?  The addiction, my friends, is only being creative when you have a purpose, a clear outcome in mind.  In my case, I've been fortunate enough that a good amount of the composing I do earns me, to a greater or lesser degree, some financial compensation.  When that happens with one or two pieces, it's a nice little bonus; when it happens with forty or fifty, well ... sad to say, you start to look at everything in terms of, "Will this make me some money?"

Even lately, I've been working on a couple of projects that don't have any promise of direct financial benefit, but from their completion I can very easily foresee some other tangible benefit.  Even when I write a very simple piece and or a bell tree descant to be used at church -- even when I have no intention whatsoever of pursuing publication -- there is a direct purpose for the creation, namely having music custom-tailored to my performing ensemble or situation.

Also suffering are those who desperately want to be creative, but who feel they must have a Purpose, a Message, a High-Minded Ideal before they are allowed to create.  Unable to find this One Right Purpose, they founder, always wanting to create but never allowing themselves to begin because they don't have a reason for the creating.

What's a Creative to do?

• Spend an hour on the weekend creating just for fun -- Whether it's writing a poem or two, playing with paints or oil pastels, or even writing a piece of music just for your own listening and playing enjoyment, getting away from the external rewards of our creating reminds us why we're doing this in the first place, and helps renew our spirits for even more creative work.

• Ask yourself The Question -- Take twenty minutes and go off by yourself, then ask yourself the Big Question: If I got no reward, no outcome, no money of any sort for my creative work ... would I still do it?  Don't allow yourself the luxury of the pat, "Of course, I would!" answer -- really search your mind and heart and find out your true feelings.  This isn't a time for blame and recrimination -- it's a time for self-discovery.  If you find you don't like your True Answer, realize you can always change how you approach your creativity.

• Tell yourself that, even if you do create just for fun, that doesn't mean that creativity won't serve a purpose -- I have pieces of music that I've composed just for fun, pieces I wrote years ago, ones I never dreamed would receive publication.  Then, for no reason, I'll pull them out, dust them off, and send them to a publisher ... and, lo and behold!, they get accepted.  I have at least two piano pieces that fit this bill, and a couple of string orchestra pieces I'm hopeful will do so very soon.  When I wrote the pieces, I wrote them just for fun -- it was nothing more than creative play -- but they are now finding a purpose greater than that with which I created them. 

Now, please don't think I'm saying that creating with a purpose is bad -- it isn't.  Far from it, much of my creative output has been promoted and guided by having a firm purpose in mind.  I think the worry comes when we only create for a purpose, never allowing ourselves the time to use our creative gifts and talents for our own self edification.

Try to find some time this week -- an hour, a half hour, five minutes, whatever -- to do some creating that has no purpose other than the act of creating itself.  You may find your creative energy renewed, your creative process rejuvenated, and maybe, just maybe, a new love for the creating you do every day.