Digital artist, game designer, audiophile and occasional musicman, candy enthusiast. (he/him/his)
Age 30, Male
Media Designer
Joined on 8/21/09
Why do you get to be the more eloquent version of myself? So much of what you said in the first part of this post is exactly how I've felt for a long time but have been unable to put to words. I'm looking forward to reading your next posts!
Also ACOCk won the Great NG Podcast War.
@GoodL ACOCk ACOCk ACOCk ACOCk ACOCk ACOCk ACOCk
"I’m not a psychologist, so take this with a grain of salt, but here’s the thing I learned about creativity: it comes when your brain is actually getting engaged with life stuff."
This part is too true, damn......
Great write-up! Looking forward to the next post.
Ah man I'm still spinning fidget spinners on the daily here. XD Bandwagon or no, they're pretty soothing. Got the silent kind that doesn't distract as much, just produce a calming whoooosh kind of ambience and keeps going for unexpectedly long moments of time...
Anyway this was a great read. Introspective and well-formulated. As I never lost a job during the 'rona I believe I'm still in the 'envious of all these people with free time' boat, I too in a way see any spare moment I have as a moment for legacy, though for the most part it's not so much in personal creation as in stuff like this. Just involvement. Interaction. Partaking in as much as possible, that unlike TV shows and such don't feel like a waste of time, but more so something that inspires and fuels my own endeavors, or at least ends up constructive in some regard. It's a steady balance of enlightenment and deeds. Of making ample pastimes feel valuable and all things I partake in having some kind of furthering purpose, for me or others. I feel like if I had more time then I could spend more time on my own projects without letting up on my involvement with others, but I'm not sure that'd ever be the case, it's easier to consume than too create; this is really the easiest way to be of value. I'm a change that eventually. But ALSO catch up on all those NGP episodes! No compromise!!!
It really is haaard not to compare yourself to others too. Fortunately I feel like you can learn not to act based on how you feel though, to some extent, feel away but disregard the feelings that don't lead anywhere.
The "I’m not a psychologist, so take this with a grain of salt, but here’s the thing I learned about creativity: it comes when your brain is actually getting engaged with life stuff." struck a note with me too. Even as a currently somewhat busy person, the busiest days can garner little engagement if you spend them the wrong way. If you lead your life doing things that don't inspire you.
How much time you have seems so much less important than how you spend it; if you spend it right maybe you'll realize you really have' an infinite supply...
Great read here. The GP era was a fine one too. Happy it lasted as long as it did! As with ACOCk, and that you parted ways in the best way. And kept going in new ways. Seems littlbox ix sort of still involved with his littlmixes too! It's like this stuff's in your blood now; just an inescable form of involvement.
I'm really glad you resonated with this one, CD.
I think you tap into something here that took me much longer to figure out: that passionate involvement with a community can be as gratifying, impactful and legacy-forming as any piece of art or content you make yourself. I hope you feel that!
I do, though I also sometimes question the long-term benefits of it all. Devoting yourself to something that's not always your own leaves you reliant on the longevity on something you have little control over, if all goes well you might even be a decisive factor IN the longevity of ditto, but there's no guarantee, which is all the more notable if content you involved yourself with keeps getting cleared out at the whim of individual users/artists, the time spent on said content doesn't feel all as valuable.
I know that in part that's a superficial way of seeing things, since you have the biggest impact in the initial interaction and reach, not in the preservation thereof, but all these trails are part of what I'd consider 'legacy'. And in that regard it's definitely a bit more gratifying to make something that's not only your own but yours to do what you wish with. If you wish to remove it then it'll be at the expense of everyone BUT yourself.
The intricate balance of creator/consumer.
In many cases I feel like artists don't always see the other side of this. But then again I'm not sure many consumers care as much about the long-term; consider their interactions of any particular value to preserve. Which leads me to question if I focus on the wrong things after all. Live in the moment. Never mind what happens after. In which case it'd be all the more rewarding to interact than to make something.
Then again, third point, maybe involving yourself while at the same time actually preserving something, as you do with the podcast format for example, is really the ideal compromise. ;) You just might've figured out the secret formula here. To both live in the now and leave a legacy all at once. To both contribute and control your own content. Both a gratifying and future-proof of ways.
But consider that the intial impact DOES create a legacy -- as a fond memory and a source of inspiration for the consumer!
Hopefully all who gained those impressions don't end up getting Alzheimer's and forgetting. :P But indeed, that's a better way to see it. :) I overthink. Focus most on the dopest things. Stay positive and lively, build a legacy and keep it timely.
PsychoGoldfish
Kinda ironic how the thing that put you in a funk by the end of 2019 was one of the things that dragged me out of mine.
I can also confirm that having more free time doesn't make you a creativity factory. If anything, when you are stuck at home all day, you end up just craving escapism more than having any ambition.
I always balanced working from home by spending a lot of my free time out of the house, or getting into some immersive video game. But then I'd have all sorts of creative ideas popping up, and no time to bring them to life.
Now that I haven't been getting as much of that escapism, the creative drive has been really hit and miss. I definitely did more creative projects in 2020, but I don't know that I was actually more driven. I knew where my head was at and always made sure that if I started a project, it wasn't super big. There was no chance I was going to make any sort of critical masterpiece, but at the end of each project, I did feel fulfilled.