Dream Chasers

Over the coming months and into the new year I want to take a more in depth look at the Creativity Loop that I outlined last month. But before we delve into some nitty gritty I wanted to take a broader look at a topic that is related to the Loop. I am talking about the Dream, the part of us that wakes up one day and states, “I want to accomplish something.” It is similar to the first step of the Loop the inception but on a much larger scale. The desire to become a movie director, a painter or a writer are all very broad dreams which is why I want to talk about them outside of the creative process.

The Dream is something that usually begins with “I want to be...” and in the end it becomes “I am a...” For many, this manifests itself in their chosen vocation and that is a very apt analogy. For instance at one point in my life I said “I want to be a video editor.” I went to college, got a degree and now I can say that I am a video editor. It is an assertive statement and as such demands some sort of action on my part. I did not roll out of bed one day and suddenly I knew everything about shot composition and color theory I had to receive training. I had to develop and hone new skills and eventually, when my education was determined to be completed, I still had to keep those newly developed skills sharp while staying current on new changes and developments. The Dream is much the same way. I will use myself as an example, I have always been attracted to mediums that tell stories, film, video, painting, sketching and writing have always been attractive because they do similar things in very different (physically speaking) ways. However it took a long time before I accepted that I had any talent for telling my stories with words, but eventually I warmed up to the idea and eventually made a decision. I wanted to become a writer, yet my training was in art and video not in writing. I didn't have a little piece of paper that validated my writing skills, no certifications that I could lean on. All I had was my raw talent for telling a story.

If I stopped there and clung to my newly stated Dream then this would be a short story and a poor example. Fortunately I had the help of friends and I began to write and read. I was honing my skills, sharpening my blunt talent into a tool that could be used. I studied other authors, I looked at the publishing industry and examined what it was I was getting into. Eventually after writing and writing, I was able to produce something tangible and I knew that I could achieve this dream. I could become a writer, if I wanted it bad enough.

I have grown much since I decided to become a writer but this does not mean that I have reached the end of my journey. In fact I believe that there is no end to the journey when you achieve a Dream. A cook will always seek new recipes, writers will always have new stories to tell and painters will always have new images to capture. Once you take the first steps it can carry you for a lifetime, it is a journey of constant discovery and learning.

I find it frustrating at times to see people clinging to their dreams. This may sound contradictory and hypocritical coming from me, but it is true. This is because I am a firm believer in acting upon your dreams. Too many times I see people clinging to a dream that they are simply doing nothing with, waiting for their dreams to be handed to them. A wish is a great starting point, but we have to be bold enough to go beyond that. That screenplay you haven't touched in nine years does not mean that you are still a screen writer but that doesn't mean you can't become one again. Action is key. Writers write. Painters paint. Actors, singers, playwrights, any professional involved in the creative process is actively involved in strengthening their talents and actively using them. Yet all to often I will come across someone who is clinging to an unused dream. Often the dream is choked by some preconceived notion of talent or some sort of mythical ideal situation in which agents descend from the heavens and bless them with the gifts they so eagerly desire. Life just doesn't work that way.

I think it is an aspect of human nature to desire the ideal, some sort of perfect situation which must be achieved before we can create. I have a friend who used to be a photographer in college. Upon asking him if he would ever get back into it again he stated that no, right now it would be impossible. I inquired as to why and was horrified at the answer. He can't get back into photography, his dream, because he has children now and he has no studio space or dark room facilities. An old friend from college who was a painter told me the same excuse. Life unfortunately is seldom ideal, the world is full of creative individuals who are deluded into thinking that there is only one way to do things. If you want to be a painter then find a way to paint, if you want to be a writer you write, a photographer then you take photos. It's a simple concept and one that is apparently over looked when excuses begin to pile up.

There is one aspect of the Dream that I find frightening and that is the very same action that I have been speaking of. Our dreams shape us, all that action, the skills acquired, the lessons learned, did not shape the dream, they shaped us. Dreams have the power to transform us into something else, something that we never thought we could be. Something that was once raw talent can be refined into a talent or skill that is useful and great bringing our dream is within reach. Yet for all its power a Dream is one of the most fragile things that we can come up with. This is because the Dream starts and ends with us. We are the only ones who can bear our dreams, the only ones who can see it's light. If we choose to not act upon it, to pursue it relentlessly, if we bury it under a pile of excuses, if we neglect and take it for granted than it will go out. Our dreams will become distant and cold remnants, shadows of what they once were. If you need a studio to do your work, then carve one out inside a closet or garage. If you need a specific set of tools or programs then find a way to get them, work a second job or buy older versions. Do whatever it takes to reach and achieve your dreams. On it's own, the dream can do nothing, on it's own it is just a small fragment of insanity and it is waiting for us to make it a reality. It is waiting for our action to bring it into being.