Everywhere & Nowhere, Baby

Infinity Bites 8

When I look at a great painting or a sublime sculpture, or hear an incredible song or read a moving poem or discover a profound quote, I sometimes wonder: Why bother?

So much amazing stuff has already been created; how could I ever compete, never mind improve on all that? What could I possibly have to add?

That’s a valid question, until you consider two possibilities: 1) Each great thought that has ever been imagined no longer exists; 2) Every incredible insight that is yet to come is already here.

How Now, Brown Cow?

“How can that be so?” you might be wondering. Or, more prosaically, “What the cluck are you talking about?!”

For a start, to convince me a great quote comes from the past, you’d have to show it to me; the past, I mean, not the quote in question. And while you’re at it, show me the person who uttered it. Umm… good luck with that?

Prove It, Schmove It

Secondly, how can you be sure that all the awesome aphorisms, pithy proverbs and meaningful memes waiting to splurge forth aren’t already with us, somewhere? You can’t categorically disprove something’s existence simply by noticing its apparent absence.

Scientists will happily agree with this, whilst gently reminding religionists that in the absence of concrete (or any) evidence for their fables, it might be better to do something else in the meantime. Like invent a new quote, for example.

In The Absence Of Evidence

Who’s to say, though, that a quote supposedly emanating from the past didn’t really come from the future, given the awkward observation that neither seems to exist. And vice versa.

Given that time’s the trickiest of concepts to grasp, who’s to say that it doesn’t run in the opposite direction to what we usually believe? Maybe tomorrow’s already happened and we’re all actually waiting for yesterday to arrive…

Show me the precise point where one instant turns into the next, and I’ll give you a week’s worth of wages for your sins.

Present & Correct

The thing is, we can only create in the present. Even those who seem to have come before us did; even those who appear to come after us will. It can’t be any other way. But is it the same present?

Are Da Vinci‘s and Aristotle‘s and Buddha‘s and Van Gogh‘s and my mum’s and John Lennon‘s and your daughter’s and my great-great-great grandson’s and the Prophet of Paris‘s and my son’s cat’s present all the same as mine? The neverending, omnipotent, omniscient, omnificent, now. You tell me.

The Sound of Silence

If someone wrote an amazing book, but you never saw or read it, is it really there, somewhere? The same wonder works for books ‘past’ and ‘future’ written. And you; what marvellous creatures have you already set free to fly the coop, and what’s still incubating inside you, waiting to hatch, and in what order?

It’s like the proverbial non-sound made (or not made) by a random tree falling in some faraway forest. If you can’t perceive it, right now, with your five senses (or six for the Woo-Wang Clan), where is it? What is it? How is it? Is it really?

Everything You Need

All of the words in this article seem to already exist, don’t they? Check in your dictionary now if you like, I can wait forever… oh, that was quick – see?!

Mind you, I’ll occasionally throw in one or two fancifool Sabisms I invent now and, err… now, to try and throw the universe off-track a bit. But even gnarly neologisms and gooey grammar use the same old letters, unless you get really weird. Verily, it’s tough to be completely original in a place where everything’s connected in time and space and we can only work with what we’ve got.

Luckily, we happen to got everything (q.v. above), if we only open up our minds and let it in, or out, as the case may be.

One Is One & All Alone

As you wander these words, you are potentially thinking some similar thoughts to moi, or at least forming familiar sounds in your mind, but are we sharing the selfsame moments too?

Are you travelling back in time to join in with me as I write this text, or have I forged ahead into the future to commune with you as you peacefully read? Or, as I pretend to contend, it is one and the same?

I honestly don’t think it matters, but it could matter. If you feel it’s not worth writing now, because someone has written on the same topic in some other present, you’ll end up doing nothing much in yours. That’s not living, that’s not sharing and that’s not contributing to the wild tapestry of life.

Who’s to say that great writers from the past weren’t moved to place plume on paper precisely so that you, yes, YOU (my dear reader), could in some way join them at some point in their personal place on the planet?

For Those About To Write

I suggest you do likewise; humanity’s counting on you! Write (or create) for those who will come ‘after you’, and for those who have gone ‘before’, for their enlightenment and in their honour, respectively.

We owe it to others to leave our distinctive mark, so that they, in turn, will have some sense of belonging and the urge to emulate us and so the great Creativity Cycle continues.

It’s not new to say we’re all essential threads in the universal fabric, all notes in the same celestial symphony, but how many of us gleam or chime as we could and should?

No-One Can Know It All

Finally, remember two more things, if I still haven’t convinced you to stop thinking about writing or painting or creating and go do it.

First of all, as connected as we all may be, no human seems to have the ability to consume all of the greatness out there ever produced. They need to be guided to the most important parts – the best bits – by someone who knows who they are, to help them move on in life, and that’s where you can help.

Second of all, we need familiar voices that speak to us, in terms we can understand and learn from. Everyone is different in this respect. You will be absolutely the right person a lot of folks out there are dying to hear, and others won’t.

One In A Billion

That’s the way it goes and the way it always is. Don’t leave a gaping hole in the intemporal tapestry or an uncomfortable silence in the symphony by not playing your part to the full; you’ll lessen the pleasure for others and yourself also.

The world needs you and your creations to make it complete. Don’t compete, for there’s no-one to compete with; you’re here, there and everywhere; you’re one in eight billion, baby! Now go create.

GET COACHED BY SAB!

🧩 Sab has been exploring the creative human experience in Paris for over 25 years. He writes words, makes pictures and encourages connectedness every day. He thinks that being creative on a regular basis is a wonderful way to lead a worthwhile, enriching and generous life. He’d love to help you make the most of your infinite potential too, creatively and authentically…

🌈 Let’s EXPLODE 💥 your CREATIVITY ! 🚀 Get in touch…

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