March 09, 2009

Giving life up for the status quo

There is beauty and joy all around us. Inspiration, innovation, excitement, and passion are not hard to find, for those who truly want to see it.

In fact, we have all been designed with joy and creativity hard wired into our DNA. However, at some point in our lives, most adults, in an effort to be mature and responsible, push away creativity and side with the obese and bloated system of the status quo. We tend to live under the false premise that siding with the status quo is safe, secure, and without risk. That seems to make a lot of sense, until you begin to see the status quo begin to crumble under the enormous weight of self induced process, policy, and procedure. The economic crisis that we find ourselves in today is a result of our over reliance on the status quo, as opposed to relying on the strengths and talents that we have each been uniquely created with, for a mission that is just as unique.

Beauty and design are elegant. They are lightweight on process. They require that we focus on doing what is important, doing what is important well, and keeping the solution elegantly simplistic. However, elegance and simplicity come with a cost. There is a lot more effort that is required when you are trying to do something different than it has ever been done.

Creating something elegantly simplistic requires digging into the core of who we are, the part of our souls that we have neglected for so long in exchange for assumed security. Another challenge that we face as we begin to do things that are meaningful, passionate, and creative is that we will all to often look internally for the best ideas. Rarely are the best ideas found within. They are often found as a result of looking at all of the beautifully crazy ideas that others have had, and then marrying them into an elegant union. Finally, doing something creative and extraordinary will require us to be uncomfortable and to step into a place of constant uncertainty. This sounds scary at first, but ultimately, you will find joy and contentment when you are able to escape the bonds that we willfully accept when we blindly follow a broken system.

Keep in mind, the status quo is established in order to keep you from fulfilling a mission that is uniquely your own. It is there, intentionally, to distract you from the work that needs to be done. Whether or not you decide to step up to the mission of your life is completely a call that you must make on your own.

No comments: