Saturday, August 27, 2005
Encila: Creative premise
By Robert Encila
Musings
'To be creative is to be alternately liberal and conservative, for in fact the truth of our lives is almost always somewhere in between.'
TUCSON, Arizona -- I don't get out much anymore. If my lifestyle were any different, I'd be checking out every new hit movie in town, snooping around to hear the best jazz musicians, perhaps even shooting the breeze with casual old-timers at the local billiard hall.
Let me make myself clear. I'm exceptionally content in my present role as a family man. With all the hype invested in my once gregarious single life, my evolution as master of the household has a way of inspiring sufficient creative energy without leaving home.
It's a hoot learning how to build a playhouse from scratch. Lately I had loads of fun manifesting cash by purging old junk in a rummage sale. And though paternal instincts may preclude me from going out and enjoying a stream of current flicks, movie time in the family room with my girls has become a ritual I wouldn't trade for the big theater.
I may think about playing hooky with my buddies now and then, but these days I get such a kick out of the little discoveries on the home front, like seeing my youngest daughter shed the training wheels off her small bike. It's integrated jazz: watching her take off alone creates a beautiful tension akin to a Thelonious Monk improvisation.
It would be a superlative experience to be able to accomplish everything I love to do under the sun. That's obviously wishful thinking. I can only do so much in a day that it might as well be pleasing to my right brain. I don't want to sound smug, but boredom is not a word I choose to maintain in my vocabulary.
Creativity is an attitude. It's not a unique gift reserved for the chosen and talented few. It's as hackneyed as a worn-out proverb that suggests we can make glorious lemonade out of garden-variety lemons.
In fact, optimism is an obvious form of creative expression. In a cynical society where intellectual pre-eminence often delineates who's in and who's not, it's important to bear in mind the emotional common denominator that reveals the authentic measure of one's maturity. He who is happiest has the best advantage.
Contrary to popular mind-set, creativity is a function of simplifying an otherwise complicated alternative. I recently sold my beloved Ford Supercrew in favor of a plainer vehicle that's friendlier to the pocket book. And with gas prices soaring to exorbitant proportions, I cherish the savings that eluded me for three years with that old monster truck.
If I may be so bold, I had purchased the damn thing to look superior. Admittedly I wanted to be associated with the coolest cats on the suburban block. Sometimes all it takes to defy conformity is a little risk to discern what's right for me.
Nowadays, given people's inconsistent schedule, it's nearly impossible for countless American families to share a decent meal together, at least not without some type of interruption. What used to be a venerable tradition in the average home has become a casual practice in self-preservation. Food is still a necessity, but we're too distracted to eat together.
In light of that alarming observation, my family recently made a pact to make dinner time a priority. Since it isn't ultimately about food, we decided to share in the task of creating the meal; whatever is available, as a commitment to keep our communion to one another intact. Nothing else may interrupt that time together.
In closing, I do declare that some people get a little too stubborn as they get older, which is a sure way to stifle creativity. It's not a crime to change directions every now and then. To be creative is to be alternately liberal and conservative, for in fact the truth of our lives is almost always somewhere in between.
(A Filipino-American who co-owns a drama and art school in Tucson with his wife Ginny, the author has
performed internationally as a singer, actor, director, guitarist and pianist. His website is at www.studioconnections.net)
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