[This is a re-post from my “Stories and Lessons” blog, originally posted in 2014]
Practical is my middle name. (Actually it’s Leigh, rhymes with ‘see’, but you know what I mean.)
I am not the person that you would mistake for the impulsive daredevil. Don’t get me wrong I crave adventure like the rest of us crazy Americans. Ok, maybe crave is a strong word.
Adventure is over-rated. We need more stability and predictability in our lives. Stop it with the drop-of-a-hat body piercings and half-body tattoos. Enough is enough.
The cure to all these excessively showy displays is writing. In particular creative writing. Kids today (that includes you 50-something kid/person reading this posts) can find inner satisfaction by writing about aforementioned dastardly deeds.
Don’t experiment with smoking weed; create a character who’s a pot head. Don’t get a (regrettable) picture of a lotus flower inked across your ample breasts; write about the grandmother who leaves her job at the Wal-Mart to start a band called Lotus Mama.
The possibilities are endless. Why do it when you can write about it?
Ok. I’m kidding of course. Well, sort of.
I do wonder though if there is some truth to my conjecture. [click_to_tweet tweet=”Could it be that some of our Western fixation with edgy outward extremes is a symptom of our dissatisfaction with what we consider boring unfulfilling lives? #DiverseReads #AmWriting #BlackBooks @LLHargrove #blogpost” quote=”Could it be that some of our Western fixation with edgy outward extremes is a symptom of our dissatisfaction with what we consider boring unfulfilling lives?”] Lives that long to create something beautiful and unforgettable. Lives crying out to make a mark.
I make my mark in the predictable world an an engineer. But I also venture out (on impulse even) into the worlds of paint and prose. Both worlds feed the daredevil in me. Even a daredevil needs gravity. My ‘gravity’ is rooted in my relationship with Christ, not in religion.
“Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.” ~Proverbs 19:21
How about you? What fine line are you walking along as a creative person? Does it line up with your God-given purpose or are you just masking a deep longer for real life?
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Photo credit: Matheus Ferrero on Unsplash