Source: ezinearticles.com
We are the world, we are the children.
We are the ones who make a brighter day.
(from We're the World~ Michael Jackson)
Creative people often think differently from, "Michael Jackson", everyone else. They imagine ways of seeing the world and of doing things which might not occur to others. However their relationships often show a complexity difficult to understand. Sometimes they create disasters for themselves and everyone else involved.
Mary Lou Cook describes creativity as "inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes and having fun." It is a process of reworking reality, seeing new connections and sometimes a whole new reality. Frank Barron sees the creative person as "both more cultivated, more destructive, a lot madder and a lot saner than the average person." Extremes and contractions mark the lives of the creative. They often appear as enigmas to others for whom order and logic is important.
Like many exceptionally creative people, Michael Jackson defies understanding and explanation. He stretched music and dance beyond their previous boundaries. Yet his personal life slowly unraveled, inviting criticism and scorn.
At times I have imagined that successful creative people live charmed lives. Details of Michael's life splattered in the tabloids turned my speculation on its head. Creativity provides no guarantee of economic success nor does it insure an ordered life. In fact the opposite is often true.
The above definition of creativity could also serve to describe adolescence. Maybe living a creative life is like perpetual adolescence, seeing nothing as impossible and no traditions as sacred. Unbounded by context, their ideas take on a life of their own.
Speaking of adolescence, Michael Jackson's cavorting with teenage boys suggested he was inclined toward pedophilia. Yet the similarity between creativity and adolescence intimate that he might have lived more at the emotional level of teens than of adults. He might have felt more comfortable in their company than in that of adults.
Creativity can take the form of a demon as well as a muse. It can raise its possessor to new pinnacles. It can also exact a steep toll on the quality of life. Finding a balance between creativity and, "Michael Jackson", rationality would make for a less chaotic life, but it would also dull the sharp edge of creativity. Part of adolescence is reckless abandon. Stopping to consider consequences inhibits spontaneity, a problem for creative expression but not a bad thing in personal life.
Maybe understanding someone like Michael Jackson is too much to expect no matter how you approach it. Like creativity itself, it cannot be pinned down. His creative success and personal limitations may just dramatize the extremes of which we are all capable.
Have you seen my Childhood?
I'm searching for that wonder in my youth.
Like fantastical stories to share
The dreams I would dare, watch me fly
(from Childhood ~ Michael Jackson)
Life Lab Lessons
What are your creative talents?
Do you celebrate or hide them?
Let your spirit fly, if just a little.
Share your gifts with those who need them.
Treasure and celebrate others' gifts.
Joseph G. Langen is the author of Commonsense Wisdom for Everyday Life, Young Man of the Cloth, The Pastor's Inferno and Navigating Life: Commonsense Reflections for the Voyage. He also distributes a free newsletter on commonsense wisdom topics, Sliding Otter News. Learn more about his writing and publishing through Sliding Otter Publications at:
http://www.slidingotter.com
http://www.commonsense-wisdom.blogspot.com
Contact him at: jlangen@slidingotter.com
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