Listen & Be Heard

The Arts and the Market co-exist. Artists of all kinds depend on the Market for subsistence of the body. But the creative spirit doesn’t depend on food.  The stuff of the Soul is what carries us through, even when we are hungry. The Soul finds its expression with creativity.

Every day, creations paid for by the Market play a huge role in every modern civilization’s society. Billboards, television shows, fashion designs, packaging, news media, computers, are ways that the Market induces people to create cooperatively to reach a common goal.
Do you remember when you were a little kid? You drew pictures, sang songs, danced, and built bridges, before you ever even thought about ‘what you wanted to be when you grew up.’ The truth is, you already were somebody, a person with an irrepressible creative spirit.
People in professions of the Arts can forget that they are not defined by their profession. Even the most genius among us can lose touch with their creative spirits, and simply perform their jobs like robots, when they forget that they are not singers or marketers, they are people.
There are families who play music together for themselves. There are poets who never even sought a publisher. Where I come from they are called amateurs, professionals being those who make money at their craft. The Market is powerful, but it can’t define what is Art.
Don’t let the Market define you either. If your creative expression hasn’t made anyone any money, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be doing it, or can’t be who you want to be now that you’re grown up. Even if you’re ‘successful,’ you may not be happy repeating yourself. You can keep things fresh by making sure to do those same things that you did naturally when you were a child. 
If you used to sing, why don’t you anymore? Answering that question and fixing the problem may lead to huge life-changes, but everything changes anyway. Alternately, if you are doing just the same things you did as a child, but don’t enjoy it anymore, then you have not stayed true to yourself. Maybe you handed the steering wheel to someone else and forgot to take it back.
You can take back the steering wheel by forgetting about the Market, at least for a little while. Each day is a new opportunity for creative expression. Some time should be given each day to nurturing that part of you which knows the joy of pure creativity. If there is no time for you to commune with yourself make the time. That revolution may not be televised, but it will be very real to you.