Consuming and Creating: Part 10: Destruction

This morning my dad and I were talking about self-defeating habits. We all seem to have them. Crazy busy so you procrastinate. Not getting enough sleep so you go to bed late. Depressed and lonely so you hunker down and stay inside by yourself. Feeling discouraged that you aren't accomplishing much so you only do fun (consuming type activities) instead.... It's a real problem.
In the past I've talked about how apathy is in some ways the opposite of creating, because if we don't care enough to create then we might as well consume. This was more in regards to particular practices or things we do, but what about our very beings?
As we were talking about self-defeating habits or in other words, self-destructive habits it made me think of becoming... as in who we are becoming not just a specific practice.
Thus, it seems that when we are self-disciplined (not doing self-defeating things) then we are usually progressing and becoming (creating) a better person while when we are participating in self-destructive behaviors we are losing? destroying? the person that we could be.
Most of the behaviors or decisions I mentioned at the beginning can probably be linked back to a root problem of just not caring enough at that moment to make a better decision (or ignorance I suppose). This apathy then, is in reality destructive, and so to put it dramatically, if I'm not creating a better me I'm destroying the current me.

Consuming and Creating: Part 9: Discovery

Just a couple of posts ago I mentioned how I think that doscovery is an important part of enjoyment. This weekend I went to a National Park and played around in nature. It made me happy. I climbed up a giant sanddune and just smiled as I walked through the sand at the top (avoiding the scorpion tracks). I also really enjoyed wandering around right before sunset clambering over slick rock and admiring the Indian Paintbrush. I'm sure others have seen those things before but just finding these places myself was fun. My friend that I was with told some other friends that I was "euphoric" after these little escapades. I guess other people don't seem to get so excited about these kind of things... I guess I get it from my mom.
Although I have to admit that sometimes I don't feel like I appreciate some things as much as I should. We went on a sunrise hike. It was cool but it didn't seem that exciting...
Discovery and creation seem to be really connected in that way, as in they both give me the same triumphant feel. Without using the word "discovery" I wrote last month about how it can be a part of creation. In another post a couple of years ago, I wrote about being excited about the little things and how doing so makes you a good candidate for immortality. Perhaps they are more interrelated than I thought.

Creation, More Than What You Put In

This is a painting I did in my high school art class. The teacher had a series of pictures from magazines that she had cut out and then let us pick one. Someone picked the one I wanted so I picked this one. After painting it (I struggled, we were supposed to be doing impressionism) I took it home and my Mom said it reminded me of my Dad's hometown. My brother-in-law asked why I had painted a dragon into it.
Neither was my intention.
I was surprised what other people saw in it.
A few weeks ago I was talking to my sister about my book. I was trying to figure out if I could emphasize certain characteristics in my main character. I had one example. My sister then proceeded to list off like 5 or 6 other examples of how the main character displayed that characteristic. I wrote the book. I knew what she was talking about but I hadn't realized that that characteristic was actually that important to the character.
My Dad told me that he knows he has done a good job programming something if he finds new ways to use it and it isn't limited to only what he initially programmed it for.
It seems like sometimes it is the interaction between the creation and a new person that reveals new depths but sometimes it is the creator him or herself that sees new potential in the already completed work.
It seems like the bigger and more involved the work the more potential it has. No wonder the creation of new life is so incredible and is it any wonder that creation is such an integral part of godhood.

Consuming and Creating: Part 8: Bored

School got out!
I've had two roommates that seem bored out of their minds because they don't have school and they haven't gotten jobs yet.
I can't understand them!
The first one exercised and balanced her checkbook and called and talked to her Mom for hours.
The second one sleeps a lot and watches TV.
So this week, my first week out of school and before I started working on Thursday I spent almost one whole day reading obsessively (I finished Calamity by Brandon Sanderson in a day)... but the other days I spent working on my book, drawing, and weeding. There are always so many projects I want to (or should) work on. Art, exercise, school, writing. I don't have time for it all. I was talking about it with my Mom who is a "stay-at-home Mom" with no kids at home... but she is probably one of the most productive people I know. She said she frequently is asked if she gets bored. "No, but I do get lonely."
I would agree with that. Sometimes I do get bored because I do the same thing for too long or I consume too much because for some reason I don't want to actually be productive but I always feel like I have something I could do.
It seems that some people don't know how to be creative if they are not being told by someone to do it... and so then all they can do is consume, and no matter who you are or what you are consuming it seems to me like you will always get bored (eventually) if their isn't any creativity in your diet.
I have wondered what makes the difference. Why do some people need a job to feel busy and others don't. Is it practice? age? personality? I'm not sure but I would lean towards personality or practice.

Consuming and Creating: Part 7: Song and Dance

Sometimes when things are stressful or life is hard I like to go into denial and read a book. I've heard of other people doing similar things. The Mormon Pioneers are often said to have walked all day and then spent the evening in song and dance. I always thought that was a little odd but I could understand it in terms of a type of denial. Not long ago I had a stressful as well as exhausting day of work but instead of just reading a book, or laying around doing nothing I convinced some friends and we went to a free outside performance of singing and dancing. We might have done a little of the singing but we didn't do any of the dancing. We also did quite a bit of laughing. I enjoyed it and I think it was the best thing we could have done. Instead of sitting around complaining at each other we got out and laughed and thought of lighter things. It's not the state of denial I feel like books usually give me (because as soon as you stop reading it all comes rushing back), it was a genuine stress outlet. The stress was mostly gone. I think I have come to understand those early pioneers just a little better, and it works.
Caveat:
I would just like to state that on several other occasions in similar situations I just needed time to recoup in an alone time atmosphere. There is certainly a need for that too but I have also seen the advantage of lighthearted social situations. But again that alone time was typically walking around admiring the beauty of the earth.

So my hesitant conclusion is that pure consuming forms of entertainment may work as a form of denial but true stress relief may come more easily and thoroughly with creative entertainment.

Drat. Now that I've written all that and come up with my hesitant conclusion I am responsible for doing it... and not just picking up a book whenever I'm depressed. I hate when I learn too much as I write these posts.

Consuming and Creating: Part 6: Screen Time

Yep I'm back on this subject again. I have several nieces and nephews and I have seen all of them over the holidays. Screen time seems like a big issue parents have to make decisions on. Especially in this technology saturated society. Watching movies, TV shows and youtube videos, and other people playing computer games. Playing computer/tablet games. All of those things are part of screen time. But I think there is a difference, a better and best if you will.
All the types of screen time above are recreational, but I wouldn't say they are all necessarily consuming activities. I think playing games like mahjong or tetris or candy crusher can be an exercise for your mind. Sandbox building games like minecraft and terraria let you be creative. And watching other people play games can build relationships. I suppose watching movies or TV shows can do that as well. Of course all these have to be done in moderation or they can become mind numbing. Basically I'm just saying that screen time can vary a lot, and some is actually very creative. Screen time isn't always consumption even when it is a game.
After all I normally spend quite a bit of time in front of the computer, writing and artwork.

Consuming and Creating: Part 5: Opposites

When I was little, opposites were a big deal. Stop and Go. Over and Under. I'm sure you can think of some.
I have heard someone speak about choice. He said that although the opposite of choice is often given as no choice, what really destroys choice is a lack of consequences. If no matter what you choose the same thing happens your choice doesn't matter. So it would appear the opposites don't really matter it's the antithesis of choice that can affect things.
It made me think about creating. The first thing that comes to mind when I try to think of the opposite of creation is destruction. But perhaps the worst kind of destruction, the kind that destroys creation, is apathy. Or maybe apathy isn't the right word, but not wanting to create, having no desire, or need or anything that leads to creating things. Consuming can cause apathy. It's easier to consume than create so why not just consume? So in someways maybe consumption is the antithesis of  creating, (although it is not in others see Part 2.)
And maybe opposites are not nearly as important as we thought when we were 5.

Consuming and Creating: Part 4: Crowdsourcing

My brother and I talked a little about different crowdsourcing projects, yesterday. It is when a group or company gets a large amount of people involved in a project. I don't know too much about it, but I think it is often done through volunteers via the internet.
Indexing done by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is a good example of this. People sign up, download documents and then transcribe certain information from the documents, particularly to use for genealogical work. I've done some of it, but not recently.
https://familysearch.org/indexing/
Recently I have worked on two other crowdsourcing projects.
Operation War Diary
It's a project similar to LDS Indexing, but you don't type in much, mostly you pin little tabs on documents. They are journal entries from WWI battalions. I've recorded casualties, training, trench building, and football games. It's interesting to see the day to day activities of some of the groups.
http://www.operationwardiary.org/
Snapshot Serengetti
This might be my favorite. As the volunteer you look at pictures taken by camera traps in the wilds of Africa, and then record what types of animals are present, how many and what they are doing. Who knew wildebeests were so common! I've also documented ostriches, zebras, hartebeests, elephants, and topi.
http://www.snapshotserengeti.org/

Now that you know all about crowdsourcing this is how I think it relates to creating.... There are a lot of short games you can play on the internet, and most of them are addicting to some degree of another. But when you are done you haven't accomplished anything. Consuming just isn't as fulfilling as creating. And so essentially people that have set up crowdsourcing opportunities make productive things into short addictive "games." When people get involved, they enjoy it, and they feel better about themselves then if they had only been playing a game, because it's creative in some ways. Plus, you get to be a part of a project that is bigger than yourself. It's exciting. I know I've enjoyed doing them.
So basically crowdsourcers have capitalized on helping people be creative/productive.

Consuming and Creating: Part 3: Output Theory

When I first posted about Consuming and Creating I never thought it would grow into multiple posts, but I just keep returning to the idea. Last semester I took a linguistics class and we discussed different theories about learning language. One of the most interesting was developed by Merrill Swain called the Output Theory. Building on other theories before her, she distinguished between input and output in language acquisition. Input is reading and listening activities, where output activities are writing and speaking based. Her theory emphasizes that students that provide output learn much faster then those who only receive input. In other words people who are using their new skills to create and interact are far more productive then those who only consume. This is very apparent in other types of activities too, you can't learn to sing just only by listening, or paint, or play soccer, only by watching others. It just doesn't work like that. We have to participate in life to actually live.

Consuming and Creating: Part 2: Consuming begets Creation

I have previously written some about Consuming and Creating and this is a continuation of those thoughts. Yesterday I watched the movie Prince Caspian. It was one of those rare moments of consumption that motivated me to create. Sometimes I think that media can be so well created that it inspires you to be better, stronger, braver, and more creative. I had a similar experience in high school and I have since documented that experience in the following snapshot.

 Quietly I turned the last page and closed the book before me. I ran my hands down the worn binding of The Killer Angels and gently returned it to the second pocket of my backpack. Barely hearing the noisy chatter all around me I gazed out the bus window. The familiar trees and roads went by, but I saw only the bloody fields of Gettysburg. We turned down Shawsheen Road and in a daze I got off at my stop, distancing myself even more from the loud chaos.

I practically tiptoed home as I contemplated the death and the sadness, the absolute majesty of the book. In the very midst of Union victory Shaara had reverted to the view of the Confederate leader, Longstreet. The triumph I had experienced just pages before turned to the futileness of defeat. Every war has two such sides, and yet rarely are both sides portrayed so well.

I set each foot down carefully, avoiding crackling leaves, as I walked up the wooden steps of our porch and opened the door slowly. I carefully took off my shoes and inched the door shut. I moved in a sort of personal memorial for the men who had died and the writer who had brought them to life.

“Why are you being so quiet?” My Mom called from the next room, jarring my thoughts.

“I just feel like it” I said, hating to break my silence.

Consuming and Creating: Part 1: The Importance of Creation

This is a dilemma I am faced with far too often. There is a myriad of movies, books, tv shows, computer games, etc that are so easily accessible. And I enjoy watching, reading and playing them. I also enjoy painting, drawing, writing, and other sorts of creative activity. Unfortunately, I feel that I frequently find that the first choices seem easier or more enjoyable. Then, at the end of the week I find that I have not done anything really interesting. There is nothing to show for my week. That gets depressing. Creation is by far more rewarding in the long runs. Sometimes I wish that consuming wasn't so easy.
It seems to me, that in previous generations, the pioneer era for example, was easier in that way.   Survival, or at least daily work, was literally a handmade craft. That's why people won ribbons at the country fair for their jams, quilts, harnesses, wood furniture, and whatever else. They were proud of the works of their own hands. They didn't even have to look up how to do it on Pinterest!
In this day and age creation seems to be more of a hobby, a bonus rather then a necessity. My problem is I struggle is to make it more of a hobby then reading (all consumption). Wish me luck before I return to school and I won't have time for hobbies.