Walking, following my shadow in front of me,
so capable of holding my dream in your dark complexion, a friend that walks steadily through the line ‘tween what is real and what is dream.
The two kiss,
like an explosion of light
from that one painted street lamp.
What is seeing when it rips the structure asunder piece by piece till what you thought was solitary and enduring becomes nothing more then water flowing?
So like fantasy is this life I breathe,
where does one end and the other begin,
the line shrinks from distinction.
Lost at sea in both the real and fantasy, overlaying my beloved notions of Beauty upon the seen.
I attempt at wholeness, to wholly see another without my ideas strangling them.
Stand back you defenders, allow for the balance. So hard it is to walk with your head in the clouds as your feet take root in the softening ground. I look to where the two meet and think on the space between my shadow, a dream, and my feet, the concrete.
creativity
How to Grow From Negative Feedback for Creators
It feels great to create something. You made something that you wanted, it has entered the world and taken form. You like it so much you think others should see it too. When you start putting yourself out there, you are open and vulnerable. Getting poor feedback feels bad but it’s inevitable.
Why do people on the web feel the need to be negative? There are many great and supportive online communities out there, but it can feel like the vast majority are just filled with haters. You post your hard work to a page only to have it voted down instantly by some bot and your creation never sees the light of day.
I think by understanding the motivations behind negative feedback creators can take this to learn and improve.
Don’t take it personal!
The first takeaway from internet negativity is to not take it too personally. People being rude really shouldn’t reflect on you, it is a reflection of their bad behavior and self hatred. Although we don’t deserve cruel comments just for trying to share our work, it is unfortunately a reality. More often than not, mean feedback is coming from a place of frustration. These people have been hurt and they now want to force that hurt onto others. Don’t let them win! Chase your dreams!
Bad feedback isn’t the worst thing – No feedback is the worst thing!
One of the healthiest ways to view negative feedback is to change your worst case scenario. This is basically looking at your worst fear in putting yourself out there. For most of us, our worst fear is negative feedback. It’s scary to have someone say your work sucks or it’s trash etc. and it hurts. However this is not really the worst fate for your work!
The worst thing that can happen for a creation is for no one to see it. For it to just enter the void. The world doesn’t owe you anything just because you made something, and even though you may have got a negative response they still took the time to tell you. Count that as a win! As an artist your goal is to elicit a response. Social media grows through engagement, whether positive or negative.
Everyone is a critic!
People love to criticize things. Odds are, people will find fault with your work rather than like it. It’s easy to criticize something and it makes you feel superior. It’s a cheap thrill. Again, don’t take it personal. It’s so hard to make something great so keep at it!
Keep it in perspective!
Don’t let the one bad feedback ruin the rest. We can get so stuck on the bad it’s important to remember a lot of people probably did like it. Count every win and count your losses as wins too. You tried and you put it out there. It’s hard to create! Don’t give it up!
Peace and Love!
Poem by Lyonrah
I’m a simple man
scared terribly
by the ascendance I feel
through & all about me.
In the echoing crescendo
herald by the buds
of the stretching spring tree,
in the reply from the
scuttling squirrel
gathering acorns, pausing,
looking through me,
in the eyes of another
who holds mine in momentary matrimony,
rather then the usual,
a demonstration a performance,
an assertion of ones own dominance.
Sometimes it becomes so shockingly clear
that it can’t but cause
a stirring disturbance in me.
A need for coming back,
a need for returning from that place
whispered of in our dreams.
I huddle inside my shelter,
a gift so long condemned
as the original sin,
and do as instructed
by the ego within.
Drunk On New York
Madness is unrefined passion
Passion is exonerated madness
Yak’s milk is sweet
and I drink to no end
No end
like these streets—
I walk every one
and never grow tired
knowing even eternity won’t last forever
and I have a train to catch
out to the countryside, where a mad yak
waits for me
with an infectious smile
with pure milk
which I drink to no end
and think of the endless city streets—
with bronze idols, glass walls,
cemented paths
That is all behind me now
The streets are behind me
The train is behind me
The mad yak is behind me
goading me to keep going to no end
goading me to drink her milk to no end
until the last sap of life is drained
so she can sleep to no end
so her dreams become my dreams
and my dreams travel beyond
the endless city streets
who refuse to sleep
They drink me to no end
consuming the same mad yak visions
that gestate in the womb of slumberless nights
who give birth to babies
that overrun the endless city streets
with cries for yaks milk.
The wails resonate
off skyscrapers as
an admission of want for nothing
other than mother,
an omission of subways, stadium deals,
condo complexes, dreams of electric sheep.
A call for transformation
of pavement to pasture
and the world’s city citizens
to sprout curved horns
grow hooves, don thick coats of fur
and udders and udders
filled with the passion and madness
of yaks milk
Voice Control
By Peter
wave function rolls
over tongue
say it
say it
it again
thoughts like
french kiss
ear lick
mind meld
right thought (check)
right speech (check)
lights
camera
(right) action
communication out
of focus
a monkey teaching a dolphin
to climb a tree
both agree that
oranges are oranges
peel means skin
skin does not mean peel
you can skin a banana
but you can’t peel a cat
you can tuna fish
can the piano
it’s out of tune
false positives
doubly negated negatives
placebos work
if you let them
everything is a matter
of percentages
90% of the time
from vegas to wall street
but I live in kansas
off-broadway is still broadway
paris is still paris
and still burning
I make a claim
then stake it
I have no idea what
that expression means
none of the words I invented
are in the dictionary
I shout them
from rooftops
on cold nights
words are just a song
I don’t know the melody
translate english into
english into english
and the original
meaning is lost
if it had one to begin with
this corn maze means
something but
is too big
for me make it
out alive
I need the bees
to dance my way out
I recite my lines
stage directions say
to exit left
I do
the curtain closes
no one applauds
How To Create With a Busy Schedule
Being a creative person is not an easy feat. We all started out on the creative process because we enjoy creating as a means of free expression. This leads us to try to turn our pursuits into a career. Yet in the meantime we all have bills to pay, jobs to go to, errands to run.
There are tons of resources on the web about increasing productivity. We can manage our time better and avoid procrastination. But being creative isn’t like running errands or taking care of tasks. Creating requires all those organizational skills plus the inspiration to make something new. You have to be ready to take advantage of inspiration, and be organized enough to follow through with projects.
The paradox of creation is that it comes from both within and without. No creation happens without outside influence. It’s the background or context of a work that gives it meaning. Yet to create a person must synthesize this context into a new creation. The context reaches a critical point where everything clicks in a moment of inspiration.
You can’t predict when inspiration will occur. The trick is to be prepared. When you get home after a fourteen-hour day, and by all logic you should be exhausted, but you get an idea that’s burning to be expressed. Then you reach for your guitar but you’re missing a string. So instead you watch TV and fall asleep.
When you lead a busy life, you don’t have the luxury of taking your time with inspiration. It is fleeting and urgent. That’s why one of my prime tips of creating is to always be prepared for inspiration. Not just in terms of being organized, either. It’s a mental preparation to be poised to grasp the moment of inspiration.
The memo app on your phone is your best friend. When you’re out with your friends you might get a great idea – save it there for later. You figure out the last lyric to a song at 4:20 A.M.- don’t wait! Finish the song right at that moment. Inspiration DOES NOT wait!
Creative works don’t always happen in a flash of inspiration, however. Sometimes the only way to complete a project is with a grind. Maybe you’re a musician who needs to lay down backing tracks. Or a writer who needs to flesh out a piece after proofreading. Or an artist who needs to fill in a tedious, detailed pattern.
Once again, the answer is organization. When you’re always busy, you can’t wait around to get to it later. Busy people MAKE time for what they care about. Creators need to create and will be unhappy if they don’t. Don’t be unhappy. Set aside time to finish and organize your old projects just like you would set aside time to go to work.
Creators must create, it is in our nature. If you are stressed out from a busy life, channel it for inspiration. Then be ready to grab it by the horns when it comes.
Much love,
Eliott – founder
