CREATIVE DRIVE

The newsletter that puts the steppingstone in place

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NUMBER 56

The more you question things, the more questions you'll have. Get started.

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Isn't it amazing that a person can have so many interests? Think about it. Even if you lived in a primitive cave on the edge of a vast plain, you'd still wonder about every little thing on that earthen floor. You'd ponder the age and composition of that arching stone canopy, and you'd marvel at the sudden onset of darkness outside whenever you lit a fire. You'd see tiny lights aglow in pairs, there in the grass not far away, and the wind would whistle strange sounds that you'd want to understand.

The arrival of dawn would renew your appetite, particularly if the previous day's hunt was less than successful. So, you'd have choices: either some fruits and berries from the vine-wrapped trees or a foul but satisfying mustelid. (That wolverine might be thinking the same of you, so watch out.)

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The Infinite Resource

What to do, what to do . . . . Is the spear all you'll need, or is there some sort of trap you could rig? Could you capture and train a coyote to pursue game for you? Perhaps you could steal some kill from the nearest brawl of scavengers. Make enough noise, and outstretch your arms, and they might bow to you. Oh! There's a group of people just a short walk away, and they'll have food. Will they share? You'll have to find the right gestures to assuage their suspicion. Offer some of your magical mushrooms, and they will give you something with protein in it.

The days will repeat without end, at least till you're too old or weak to tend the fire within yourself. You know that because you've buried your parents and others. The walls of your shelter are embellished with petroglyphs that tell of legendary hunts, but you're alone and that's dangerous. You have no one but yourself for company, assistance and protection.

Fortunately, you're inventive. The throwing stick you use to launch that spear is a good example because it lends power to your weapon's trajectory. You've also noticed that the Sun's path changes the positions and lengths of the shadows behind trees and rocks, so you've learned to discern the time of day to a reasonably accurate degree. With that, you know where the animal groups are. The deer appear soon after dawn and again at midafternoon, and the bobcat can sometimes be found nearby. You subsist on one and compete with the other. You make clothing for warmth but are always careful that it doesn't encumber you. Your bed is a cozy mat of straw, to which you add the remnants of tattered pelts you once wore.

The constellations that decorate the night resemble things you see in your environment, and you've noticed that there are different ones during the colder part of the season cycle. You wonder why it is that the lights in the sky make pictures. You want to know who makes those lights. Are they made by the same power that makes the animals and the trees? Why is the fruit of the small tree so juicy and good-tasting? Why does the dog come to visit the fire and beg for food? Why is it that birds fly but you can't follow?

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Questions and Answers

You wonder what or who made the world and the sky. Do the questions ever stop? Will you always want to know what can't be easily understood? Will life always be a challenge?

It is the nature of us to wonder about things. It's in our nature to ask questions despite the frustration they can incur. That's the inquisitive side of us; a primal characteristic from which every civilization has emerged.

We will always want things we can't have. Consider the saying, "the more things change, the more they stay the same." The root of the proposition is that we are and will always be fallibly human. We'll always be subject to desires, which are intertwined with our view of the self. If you aren't tall, you might've dreamed of being taller. If you aren't beautiful in comparison to the standards so blatantly portrayed in magazines, you'll spend money just to convince yourself and others that you are. (You are, anyway. Your smile alone is proof of that.) Your new Toyota isn't a Mercedes, and the neighbor leased a BMW because the Porsche 9 series was out of reach. There are just four people in the family, but you want a six-bed, five-bath house. You tell yourself it's good for entertaining, but the cost of purchase and upkeep might crush you.

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Basically, You Are You

The answer to the question, "Why," is utterly simple: "Because it is so." You didn't create the world, you didn't create yourself or begin your life, you didn't request the traits with which you've been blessed or burdened, nor did you design your condition at birth. You didn't ask for the dreams that repeated without end those many nights when, as a child, you struggled to get past the flu. You didn't choose the music you heard in your infancy, nor did you choose which events or tragedies would be reported on the evening news. You didn't ask the bullies to beat and intimidate you, nor did you create the ancient impulse to bully another child. You didn't ask to cry when you saw the figure in that Rembrandt painting look right back at you, nor did you invent the wondrous connection between music and your soul.

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The Only Recourse

The thing you can do–really, all you can do–is ponder your world so that you can interact with it. The more questions you ask, the more you'll want to know. The more you know, the more questions you'll have. The more you learn, the more wisdom you'll have to share with the young. The more you share, the more helpful you'll be.

This article was written in a single sitting, as is every issue of Creative Drive. I say that not to impress you but to reflect the constant desire to ask, know and share. I want you to write better, create more and laugh more. I want you to cry once in a while, too. I want you to find the wisdom that says, "It isn't necessary to talk to yourself. Look around, and know that not every answer will be found within. It isn't necessary to follow every thought. After all, that's impossible. Once you're able to accept what is and discern right from wrong, it's seldom necessary to think at all."

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THANK YOU for reading this issue of Creative Drive. I'll see you next time.

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Copyright ?2024 by Lawrence Payne. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated or distributed without permission from the author.