If you feel[1]The creative impulse is a fascinating thing. Dieter Uchdorft says this is part of our divine nature, an outgrowth of being the literal offspring of the Great Creator. Marcus Aurelius, and stoics like … Continue reading like singing a song
And you want other people to sing along
Just sing what you feel
Don’t let anyone say it’s wrong
And if you’re trying to paint a picture
But you’re not sure which colors belong
Just paint what you see[2]This, again, suggests that anything we create is really a form of re-creation; what we see exists prior to what we paint. And the suggestion that we shouldn’t fuss over “which colors … Continue reading
Don’t let anyone say it’s wrong[3]Tweady here asserts an inalienable right to this act of interpretative expression, recreation, or play.
And if you’re strung out like a kite
Or stung awake in the night
It’s alright to be frightened
When there’s a light (what light)
There’s a light (one light)
There’s a light (white light)
Inside of you[4]“And that I am the true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world” -D&C 93:2
If you think you might need somebody
To pick you up when you drag[5]Literally the purpose of the Atonement
Don’t lose sight of yourself
Don’t let anyone change your bag
And if the whole world’s singing your songs
And all of your paintings have been hung
Just remember what was yours is everyone’s from now on[6]For if the true light lighteth every man, then that which lightened you also belongs to everyone else.
And that’s not wrong or right
But you can struggle with it all you like
You’ll only get uptight
When there’s a light (what light)
There’s a light (one light)
There’s a light (white light)
Inside of you
When there’s a light (what light)
There’s a light (one light)
There’s a light (white light)
Inside of you
When there’s a light (what light)
There’s a light (one light)
There’s a light (white light)
Inside of you
When there’s a light (what light)
There’s a light (one light)
There’s a light (white light)
Inside of you
References
| ↑1 | The creative impulse is a fascinating thing. Dieter Uchdorft says this is part of our divine nature, an outgrowth of being the literal offspring of the Great Creator. Marcus Aurelius, and stoics like him, believed “putting the world in order” in one way or another is what we were created for; we were created to create. He also repeatedly reminds himself (and us, thanks to those who took his private meditations and made them public) of the humility that should prevail as none of what we are, or anything we create by extension, originated with us. Not only do we conceive of a bricoleur God, we conceive of numberless bricolage gods. That said, if we are truly co-eternal with God, perhaps this creative impulse is likewise co-eternal? At any rate, while we are all creators in embryo, and perhaps even assisted in the creation of our own earth as un-embodied spirits before our mortal birth, and while these miraculous facts should inspire reverence for what each sister or brother creates, we own neither what we have been fashioned from, nor what we fashion. |
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| ↑2 | This, again, suggests that anything we create is really a form of re-creation; what we see exists prior to what we paint. And the suggestion that we shouldn’t fuss over “which colors belong” and embrace our own interpretation of what is seen suggests that the play between signifier and signified is not something to fear. |
| ↑3 | Tweady here asserts an inalienable right to this act of interpretative expression, recreation, or play. |
| ↑4 | “And that I am the true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world” -D&C 93:2 |
| ↑5 | Literally the purpose of the Atonement |
| ↑6 | For if the true light lighteth every man, then that which lightened you also belongs to everyone else. |