But Only If We’re Brave Enough
To graciously present the middle finger to authority brings liberty and creative freedom. But that’s not all.
Photo by Martin Adams on Unsplash
To graciously present the middle finger to authority brings liberty and creative freedom. But that’s not all.
Welcome to The Reflectionist, a daily dose of reflection on the nature of the self, personal reality, creativity, life and work, submitted to the public record for posterity. Read personal essays and articles on the psychology of creativity to help you nurture and broaden your creative prowess.
There’s comfort in the crowd. There is safety and familiarity. That’s why most people stick to what they know and are afraid to take a chance. To break the mould is dangerous and foolish.
What will I do for money? How will I support myself and my family? What if I fail? All of these are conditioned responses typical of people built to be pawns for someone else’s machine.
Better to remain on the inside, work your ass off for someone else and play it safe. Or you might decide that working hard is not worth it and instead become a slacker without motivation enough to scratch your own arse.
Either way, the end result is the same; a world filled with people who need to be shown the right way to live and work. People who cannot think for themselves, who are manipulated by men in red ties and the lure of bright shiny things. People who have forgotten, and need to be taught how to access their creativity.
The thin script that runs beneath all human activity, and most especially with regard to daily work, is born of fear — fear of being alone and isolated.
But that’s exactly what needs to be done if we are to be free.
We must be willing to walk the road alone. We must disobey the hidden authority that Freud called the Super-ego, that Lacan called Big Other, the one that dictates through society and its agents how we should live and work.
Erich Fromm, philosopher and psychologist said in 1960;
Obedience to the “authoritarian conscience,” like all obedience to outside thoughts and power, tends to debilitate “humanistic conscience,” the ability to be and judge oneself. In order to disobey, one must have the courage to be alone, to err, and to sin.
Eirch Fromm | Psychologist
Authority is the enemy of the creative spirit and of the integrity of the individual self. As such, one of our primary role in life, not only as creative people but as human beings, is to go it alone, break the mould and follow the inner voice.
But only if we are brave enough to show disobedience to that authority.
Thanks for taking the time to read my stuff. Every morning you’ll find me sharing a new thought on life, art, work, creativity, the self and the nature of reality on The Reflectionist. I also write on The Creative Mind. If you like what I’m creating, join my email list to receive the weekly Sunday Letters