Creativity. Making something from idea to reality. This process has been behind human actions since the dawn of our awareness.

We all know HOW to create, its instinctive. In varying degrees of course, but everyone has the basic mental tools.

We know WHAT to create. Whether its words, audio, visual or a combination of all, we know what form our creativity takes. It , may take us some time and a few tries to get the right form, but we can do it.

But how many of us know WHY we create?

What drives us to take things that are in our heads, and represent them in the real world for all to see?

Some, myself included, create worlds to escape to. Worlds that are fantastic and wondrous, or so totally horrific that we can live a simpler life through them, unburdening us from what we may perceive as our shortcomings in this life.

Some create because they feel compelled by the subject matter, which I think might be the purest form of creation (though that doesn’t mean to say it is the best).

Others, more ancient ones, created to explain the world around them. This is the basis of myths (though not legends, which usually have a base in fact that gets distorted by the Chinese whispers effect). The Norsemen created Odin, Thor and the like to represent the seasons, tides and the harsh mountains that dominated their existence. They lived by these stories, more the main part, and committed them to memory and scripture to preserve them in order for future generations might live as they did, safe in the knowledge that the god’s knew what was happening.

Other, more complicated myths formed into what we called religions, but that’s another blog.

I know I’ve touched on a few subjects in this post, but the main one I want to focus on is the reason why we create, and the effect that it has, as a process, on us as individuals and as a society of humans. I think it brings us together, no matter what the actual thing you create is. It’s the process, the same mental to physical journey that we all share, if only we could realise it, we might live in a better place.

I suppose I’m done, though I feel I’ve missed out some key points that I can’t quite place.

Oh, I’m also getting a new steed tomorrow, as Deborah (yep, she had a name), has passed away, due to front break fractures.

I think I may called this one Nathaniel…

In my life, I am surrounded by strong people. Not in the physical sense very much, but in spirit.

My mother, is possibly the strongest woman I have ever met. Those that know the story will agree, though I won’t go into the details here because in all honesty its heart-breaking. She works like a dog, in a job she doesn’t like and basically supports my lame ass along with my lamer ass brother. She is the rock of my world after my father’s death. (the two year mark is swiftly approaching and my mind is somewhat perplexed at that particular passage of time, but that’s for another blog).

She struggles, and suffers, and she has bad days, days where everything seems pointless and yet she still gets up, still trolls to work and generally bamfs it up. She’s 56 and she works harder in a week then I ever have in my entire life.

The second is my friend Hayley. She has a condition called CMT (Charcot Marie Tooth, after the three physicians that were prominent in defining the condition). It’s a form of muscular dysthorpy (I know I haven’t spelt that bastard right, I cant even say it). In basic terms, her muscles, bones and nerves are screwed up, and this causes pain, quite a considerable amount of pain, both intense and long lasting, along with a history of both minor and major operations to insert and remove various materials from her lower appendages

Yet, if you ever met her you’d think she was quite ‘normal’. She goes to uni, partys like a demon and all that jazz and generally leads the life she likes, without letting her condition stop her much (though there is some considerations she has to make, she works around).

But, like my mother, she has her bad days. When things seem too much, she employs a little escapism, in the form of pictures of past nights out (serious pap freak) and Disney related media. She also looks at what she has that’s good in her life, which I think is a rare quality in our generation.

I am deeply thankful I have these people, amongst others, in my life. To lean on, to share the good and the bad, and to quietly follow their example as best I can in order to live well.

But, as a general thought, I have the following questions:

What is the price of strength?

 And when does it become too costly?

As humans, what is our tolerance to hardship, how much crap can we take before we are irrevocably different?

This has been my Wednesday blog, which I am seriously thinking of renaming my early Thursday morning blog.

Its that time of the week again. Its Wednesday blogging!!

Yeah, I know its Thursday morning, but I work late.

I had all these great ideas for today’s entry but they’ve all flown my mind. I may do an update with the things I remember.

I’m currently watching Cast Away with mother, marvelling as the portrayal of survival and its effects on the human mind, including the rehabilitation into a ‘normal’ life, which you don’t see often in survival films. Its quite epic, in the true sense of the word, not the diluted version I use perhaps too much.

Just goes to show what an exceptional group of people can achieve when driven by a passion for what they do, it’s a shame there isn’t more of that in the industry these days.

Not that its completely dead or anything, there’s just a lot of shite, only out to make money, which is sad, but its films like Cast Away, and countless others, professional and amateur alike that inspire me and many others to create.

It seems this blog about inspiration.

So what inspires you?

Wednesday Blog. No 1.

So I thought I’d start a thing tonight (well, very very early this morning if you’re going to be pedantic). This thing is to blog every Wednesday, barring incident (such as thinking of the idea of the aforementioned very  Thursday morning).

This stems from two things; One I used to write in my journal (aka the Vintage Blog) every other Wednesday after I had been to the job centre and was waiting to see my lovely girlfriend so I thought it seemed like a good tradition to carry on, albeit it in a more public manner.

Secondly, I realise I have no creative goals. At least, none with definable time scales or relevant future. I think it would do me good to set myself this goal to sit down and think (and more importantly, write). It’ll sharpen my mind and my general thought to action mechanism, which I have to admit, is poor. My mind is a wondrous place, full of ideas and grand plans, adventures and perils, but getting out of my head and into the world is one of the hardest things ever, infinitely more difficult then actually conceiving the idea in the first place if you ask me.

So, here’s my first Wednesday Blog

I hope I remember to do this every week.

(yes I know its Thursday but we’ve been over this yes?)

This following blog is much like a list, for which I apologise.

My day.

I left the house at about 8:45, after a cuddle from the girlfriend and a bowl of sugar puffs, onwards to a 4 something mile bike ride through the wind and rain. Yay.

I arrived at work, quite early, so I went to the shop, bought an energy shot that I think might give you stomach cancer, but hey ho.

I work at LS6 café, a café in, you guessed it, the LS6 district of Leeds formerly the Clock Café because of its many clocks (only one of which tells the correct time).

For those of you who haven’t been, not to be a plugger, but it’s a great little place if you’ve got some extra cash to spend (yeah budget it ain’t) its full of vintage décor, done well and without being tacky.

Advert over. 

My first task, after some general buffoonery trying to understand a very thick polish accent, was to make fresh orange juice using several dozen oranges and a contraption that looks like it belongs in a steel mill, albeit with a sweeter out come.

Then things got shit heavy, orders and service and general insanity until a very interesting customer ambled (yeah I think that describes it best) on over to me to place an order, even though this usually done at the tables and I was at the bar. Who is this rebel of the service industry!?

It took me a moment (and two eggs Benedict) to realise that this blue/green haired maverick of the Sunday café scene, was in fact Tom Milsom, of Chameleon Circuit and various other protects of awesomeness.

I stood aghast. (in the intonation of amazed/ awed, not horrified).

Tom Milsom, Tom mother f**king Milsom in my café?!

I took the order, all the while trying not to be a swooning fanboy

I failed:

Me, “I know you,” (mad stalker, killing you because I love you voice).

Tom, “Do you? Where from?”

Me “You KNOW” (like it was some kind of secret? What a dumbass I am).

Me : “Just wanted to say, its great to have met you,” (the first instance of a day long bout of goofy smile)

Tom : ‘Ah cool man, what’s your name?” (Hand offered, heart beat tripled)

Me; (promptly forgot own name) Morgan.

We parted ways, me staring at him a tad too much for someone you’ve only seen videos of, him to table 25 and me to my many duties of café work…which from that point on seemed to be completely comprised of smiling and finding excuses to look at 25….yeah… I did other stuff, like serving people food and shit (not at the same time, as this isn’t considered proper service attitude)

I keep an ear out for the food bell (wielded by an deadpan Polish woman whose handy with blades,) taking out all orders, praying for 25 to pop up.

After what seemed like a life time of about 10 mins, I was carrying two eggs Benedict to 25, and the trio(yeah forgot to mention he came with friends, sorry friends) were perusing a mixture of the dictionary and a book entitled ‘How Leeds Changed the World’, which as Tom pointed out to me (to me!!) was more how the author of how Leeds changed the world changed the world.

“This is an incredibly biased book’ Tom said, (paraphrase)

And me, being the king of wit in that moment.

“All history is biased,” I said somewhat sagely, to which Tom agreed, and left me doing the Freddy mercury meme pose combined with epic win toddler internally (and a lil bit externally cough cough, my apologies to table four for making your child jump).

The rest of the day passed without incident (expect form some more swooning as Tom bid me goodbye ‘Catch you around bro,’. Seriously, my face hurts from all the smiling).

At the end of my shift, I took a moment to chill with some carrot cake before saddling up the steely beast (a purple Raleigh Enigma) and heading home.

I arrived sodden and sore to the homestead, and in no time at all had a minor argument with my mother.

It was one of those tiffs you have when you’re both just generally irritated, and I will go down and cool it out with her.

Epic day and it was only my second day as well.

Who will I meet tomorrow, Jesus?

stopjohngreen:

fishingboatproceeds:

It’s not really about his religiosity, or even the way he uses his fame to evangelize. People, including me, are put off by Tebow because he is SINCERE, and cynical people dismiss all sincere worldviews, whether secular or religious.

Tebow exposes our cynicism. He is unafraid to care deeply and…

A gigantic and sincere “fuck you” to John Green for posting shit like this and trying to get people to view him as some kind of intellectual. Guess what? The fact that he thinks he is allowed to speak for everyone and claim that we are put off for Tebow’s sincerity is genuinely fucked up. How fucking dare this white, middle class man try and speak for the woman of color? For anyone other than other white, middle class men? For anyone but himself?

Go fuck yourself, John Green. 

And how dare you try to post this and then tack on something how “silly” football is just because you think you’re so much better than people who enjoy watching sports. Pretentious douchebags like this need to get called the fuck out 100% more of the time. 

Fucking white men thinking they get to speak for me. Sick of that shit.

Stop john green expressing his opinions?? Like you’re doing RIGHT NOW? Bit paradoxical, though I admire your balls (figuratively speaking of course) for expressing YOUR opinion, despite JG’s huge following (I’m pretty sure you’ve recieved some less then cultured responses to this). So though I don’t agree with you personally, I’m pleased you’re excersing your freedom of speech, shame you can’t let others do the same.

Sitting at a high chair eating a marshmallow topped buscuit. This may be reinforced by the picture i have of it.

I was speaking to my girlfriend the other night (one of the few nights we were NOT making avid, passionate love on the veranda I assure you) about a friend of mine who is thinking of leaving university after only their first year. They are doing a performance course, the specifics of it flee my mind (I’m a world class friend, honestly). So, The Friend wants to leave said course, and try to make it own their own, citing that the course is not teaching them anything. I pointed out that just because you are not learning something does not mean that it isn’t being taught. But this isn’t the main topic of my post. It is their life, their choice. I’m a firm believer of making your own choices, and being left to do so, even if it is the wrong one.

So, back to the non sexual night talk with girlfriend (And I was joking about the passionate love comment, I don’t even have a veranda), and she said, with a touch of humble insight I haven’t seen in a while

“We’re a generation of dreamers. The vast majority of us aren’t going to set the world on fire and there comes a point where we have to accept that and move on. The media has lead us to believe that anyone can achieve anything, that everything is possible. If it were we’d need a lot more possibilities then we do now.”

I’m paraphrasing here, but that was the theme of the quote. This got me thinking about the nature of determination and acceptance. I think it’s a great quality to be determined in life, to succeed at work, (or in my case get a job), to better yourself through education and exercise, but does there come a point where we need to sit back from our pressure induced conform-consume life style and realise that we are all we can be, and that that current state of completion differs from what we thought we were going to be?

I think there does, and it might come quite early on in life for some people. The true test of it is whether we accept that we can’t be all we thought we could, and become comfortable and confident in ourselves as people, or whether we strive to compete with what we think we should be able to do, and by not achieving this (supposedly) higher state of being, we turn our anger to the world for ‘not giving us enough chances’ or ‘bad luck’ or the worst of all, turning that frustration and inadequacy inward, upon ourselves like a slowing burning fire.

That being said, some of us can truly have the potential to set the world ablaze with our magnificence, so perhaps The Friend’s wrong choice will turn into a fated leap of faith (try saying that riding a yak backwards). Either way, I’ll be there to support and love them, as I’m sure they would for me.

EDIT; After some feedback i’ve discovered that it sounds like I’m bashing dreamers. This is not my intention. I am a consumate dreamer. Dreamers are the pioneers of the human race, and without them we’d be doomed to stagnation.

Just thought i’d clear that up. Peace.

All you need is love

Just nomming on a dude’s finger, as you do. Profile picture candidate No.1

Trying to find a picture to show to the world is hard if you dont want that picture to be you’re best. I mean I’m not on here to showcase my good looks (which, incidently, are staggering), I’m here to express my opinions, and by extension myself through blogging. They say a picture paints a thousand words, but they never say whether these words are good.

Caption-blog for the win! (i also dont like initialisms)