Creativity and emotional fraudulence

When I was a student at Carnegie Mellon University, one of my favorite professors, my drawing teacher Bill Haney, used a phrase that I still refer to today: he encouraged us to keep our visual vocabularies replenished. In present socio-cultural terms, it probably means "inner resources" — having emotional, spiritual and intellectual reserves to tap into that not only define our lives, but help us understand our experiences. (Nearly 40 years later, I was honored by Bill Haney's invitation to be in network on Linked In).

Creativity belongs to all of us. Everyone has the creativity "muscle," and it's usually got to be spiritually, emotionally, and intellectually nourished. How that's done is as individual as you are (travel, reading, music, visiting museums, hanging out with loved ones).

But I will also tell you the one feature that separates strong creatives from weak ones, and that is the ability — actually, the will — to live in an authentic, truth-seeking way. Originality, creativity, and critical thinking are closely tied.

Without those, design becomes merely ornamental; writing reads like pomposity; and sales pitches lack a sense of caring and commitment. And trust me: your audience is smart enough to know the difference. They may not voice it, but it can be felt at a gut level.

Whether you write plays or cast TV commercials or plan sales strategies, you can't hit that chord of truth unless you know how to be truthful in your own life. That chord of truth is the magical thing that makes others laugh out loud, wet in the eyes, or agree to buy services from you — because somehow, without using neon signs to say "I AM REAL," you've just shown them something authentic in raw, insightful, or very funny terms. It signals that you get it. You're not afraid to commit. You will deliver.

And it's really true: the unexamined life is not worth living, because if you're constantly sweeping things under the emotional rug, over time you're living without a lot of authenticity. Shallow relationships become easier than real ones. Forget about having crucial conversations; you stop bothering to even ask the right questions. You watch a lot of TV and come to believe celebrity highlight reels are the best life a person can have — so you watch more TV. Your relationships become more like possessions, and your possessions start to feel like achievements.

There are emotionally fraudulent people in the world. It's not that they're bad people, only that their inner reserves are skimpy, sterile, or shallow. They don't bother to replenish them, because to do so means first looking at their lives for what's missing. That can be a harsh reality to face.

Instead they prefer to lead lives that are morally convenient and/or materially comfortable. They borrow this 'n' that belief from popular TV shows or social media posts, and present such convictions as their own, to render themselves engaging and palatable. Closer to the truth, they'd rather sit home and admire their golf clubs or new rims than spend a couple hours listening to their kids' opinions. They have an uneasy relationship with the truth so they duck it at every turn.

And yes, by necessity, we all wear masks. Sometimes it's just good manners to do so, but it's no way to live. A contrived human being cannot exercise creativity any more than a copy of a copy can be called original. If you can't be honest with yourself, why on earth would anyone else trust you?