Recently I began thinking about that process parents go through in deciding whether or not to enroll their kids in music lessons.  If there are clear and proven benefits to music education, why isn’t every child of a loving and capable parent doing it?  What’s holding them back?  Is it money, fear of commitment, is the whole process just overwhelming and better ignored than confronted?

On the same premise, why isn’t the adult who always wanted guitar lessons signing up later in life if they have the means?  Or why’s the loving spouse hesitant to purchase lessons for his/her partner, even though he or she’s been talking about picking up the fiddle again (or something comparable) for years now.  What are they waiting for?  What are they afraid of?

Dear readers, I ask you now for your help.  I want to hear your comments.  I hope that you would take just a couple minutes to think about what may prevent you from taking that leap.  What’s holding you back?  What are your worries?  What are your answers to such questions as:

1) If you’re a parent, what are your fears or concerns that may prevent you from starting your kid in music lessons?  Is it money?  Unclear benefits?  Commitment for you and the kid?

2) If you’re an adult and have always wanted to take lessons, what’s holding you back?  Or what’s holding you back from giving the gift to your spouse or another family member?

3) If you have gotten your kid/wife/self started in music lessons, is there anything you know now that you wish you knew before you started?

4) And lastly, if there were some resource that could calm/address/eliminate those fears or concerns, would you be more likely to start those lessons?

And just as important are the opinions of those who don’t even have a dog in the fight – you don’t have to be a parent for your voice to matter in this discussion.  If you were a parent, would any of this even matter to you?

Thank you in advance, friends.  Your feedback will be invaluable research for a new project; one in which I hope can make a real difference in the creative lives of anyone who cares about music.  I look forward to your comments below!

©2012 adrian varnam. All Rights Reserved.

Technorati Tags: arts, Creativity, music

In a previous post I wrote about a similar relationship between fear and creativity.  In the absence of one, there exists the other.  They’re opposites, antagonists, adversaries.

Now, I’m sure I’m breaking every philosophical rule in the book, but since I’m a writer and never claimed to be smart I’m going to take this relationship one step further.  If fear is the exact opposite of creativity AND love, the two must be related.  In fact, creativity is love.

Creativity means different things for different people.  It could be more obvious things like playing music, painting, inventing, dancing, or writing.  But for me, I define creativity as just a physical manifestation of a thought or idea.  It doesn’t have to be something hanging in a gallery.  It’s about thinking, and dreaming, and then doing.  And that act of doing brings something amazing to this world that didn’t exist before it.  Every single time.  And we’re all better because of it.

When you’re being creative something truly awesome happens.  You get inspired (or in-Spirit, as Dr. Wayne Dyer likes to say), you get enthusiastic, you tap into whatever it is that makes us uniquely who we are.  You lose track of the time, you tend to forget about the bills or what’s for dinner, and almost always you give birth to the beginnings of some really cool stuff that comes from — guess where — a place of love.

But there’s another part to this whole creating thing.  When you’re creative, you’re giving something to the rest of us.  Something artistic, or thoughtful, or inspiring.  It’s always a gift, no matter how small.  And giving, completely and wholly and unselfishly, is an act of love.  Ask any mother.  There’s no doubt in my mind.

Creativity is love, both of ourselves and of each other.  It’s the absence of fear, coming from the purest parts of ourselves, and then sharing it with the world.

Every day we face a crossroads.  Which direction do we chose?  Do we start that novel, or violin lesson, or act on that new business idea. . . or do we find some excuse why we can’t?  We always, always have a choice.

Choose love.

©2012 adrian varnam. All Rights Reserved.

Technorati Tags: arts, Creativity, Inspiration, Resistance, Self

Unfortunately, our shared past makes it tough sometimes to start conversations like this with each other.  Usually a question like this starts with both of our hackles raised and ends 10 minutes later with something broken; usually either my will or the dam holding back her tears.  (I exaggerate but only slightly).  But last night was different.  She was smiling and sweet and disarming.

Maybe it’s because she’s new to this blogging/website world too (more on that later) and was feeling a sense of empathy.  Maybe she was relaxed from the wine.  Or maybe she just didn’t want to argue with me (I don’t believe that one for a second).  But for whatever reason, her approach worked, and I didn’t feel defensive enough to argue.  Plus I was already running out of good excuses to answer her question.  I’ve already used alien abductions, the draft, and being deported several times by now.  I’m not even kidding.

“What are you scared of?,” she asked.

“I’m not scared of anything,” I said.  And I meant it, I really did.  And then. . . I really thought about it.

Why don’t we update our blogs like we should?  Why don’t we share our art, or music, or words?  Why don’t we stand up for what we believe at all times?  Why don’t we act on our crazy ideas, even if we truly believe that they’ll make a difference in people’s lives? . . .  What are we scared of?

We’re scared that someone will laugh at us. . . .  And we don’t. even. realize it.

The brilliant Seth Godin articulates this clearly in his newest book, Linchpin. We’re scared to put ourselves out there because it recalls our worst fears growing up.  Our biggest fear as children is now showing up in our creative lives as adults.  Only this time, it’s keeping us from doing what we need to do.  It’s really no more rational now than it was then, but this time, there are consequences.

Godin says that “The enemy of creativity is fear. . . .  [and] in the long run, the enemy of fear is creativity.  I’m sure of it.”

Creativity and fear make strange bedfellows.  One hogs the sheets while the other freezes.  One snores while the other wraps its head in pillows to silence the noise.  One might even be a bedwetter.

It’s time for one of them to go sleep on the couch.  The decision on which one does, is always our own.  Every.  Single.  Night.

Check out Sara’s new blog.  She’s an uproariously funny writer, a terrific artist, and one of the most brilliant minds that I know.  And by the way, any resemblance to me, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

©2012 adrian varnam. All Rights Reserved.

Technorati Tags: Creativity, Inspiration, Resistance

Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it!”

From W.H. Murray’s The Scottish Himalayan Expedition (1951)

Do it now.

©2012 adrian varnam. All Rights Reserved.

Technorati Tags: Creativity, Inspiration

For two weeks now I’ve been sitting back and looking at my work, trying my hardest to figure out exactly what the hell I’m doing with all of this; the site, the writing, the music, the future.  I’ve bought in to the adage of, “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”  So I’ve waited.  I’ve waited for inspiration.  I’ve waited for discovery.  I’ve waited for epiphanies.  And you know, what?  It’s all bullshit.

Inspiration doesn’t come in the night like some mystical Santa Claus, dropping off presents of creativity if I’ve been a good boy.  Inspiration is a direct by-product of me sitting my ass down and picking up my guitar, or scheduling a time every day to write, or turning off Facebook.  Even if I’m not sure what I’m doing.  Inspiration as being the muse of creativity is a LIE.  It’s fabricated by Resistance to keep me from pushing myself forward one more inch and doing what I’m supposed to be doing with my life.  Inspiration is the curtain hiding the wizard, it’s the blindness that keeps us from realizing that the emperor has no clothes, it’s an excuse to keep us complacent.  Inspiration is the patron saint of comfort zones.

Don’t misunderstand me.  I love feeling inspired, and enthusiastic, and passionate.  But these feelings come from actually doing something, or being in the middle of it all, or watching someone else live their authentic selves and sharing in it.  Waiting for it or needing it to produce something, or to figure it all out, or to give us the answers is doing it all ass-backwards.

I’ve known this  for a long time now.  But yet, I still allow Resistance to use it as rationalization for not moving forward.  Despite everything I’ve learned, I still get sucker-punched, beaten down, and stomped on by Resistance before I even realize what hit me.  Like most days, I’m bloodied.  But today, I’m back on my feet before the ref counts to 10.  It’s my job to go the distance.  Like Rocky, simply going toe-to-toe and lasting the whole fight without giving up is a victory in itself.

I still don’t know exactly what the next step is in all of this; life, creativity, fulfilling my quest to help other creative people make sense of the world, etc.  I guess no one really does, because as soon as you figure it all out, life throws you a wrench.  But I do know that inspiration is a verb and not a noun.  And like the voice in Field of Dreams advises, I must “go the distance.”

I just won Round 2 Resistance.  Ding.  Let’s go.

©2012 adrian varnam. All Rights Reserved.

Technorati Tags: Inspiration, Resistance, Self

But most of the time it’s absolutely maddening.  It used to be once or twice a week.  The past year or so, it’s only been about once or twice a month.  But these past two weeks as I’ve prepared to launch this site it’s been almost every night.  Too much to do and I just can’t seem to get off the mental treadmill.  The result?  I sort of look and feel like Droopy the Dog at this point.

Usually I have to just stop when all this is going on in the middle of the night and talk to my brain like it’s a child.  “Brain, you know that I love you very much.  Your body and I are very proud of you and so thankful that we have you in our lives.  But if you don’t shut down the chatter and stop trying to figure out the point of Twitter we’re going to have to put you in timeout.  And believe me, it hurts us more than it hurts you.”

The body and I aren’t usually very successful and the brain wins out most nights.  The only technique that ever seems to work, however, is getting my brain, body, and spirit in alignment and focusing on my breathing.  It takes A LOT of work and concentration to do (and I’m not sure if it’s really that effective or I’m just exhausted and resigned at that point that my brain just gives in).  But regardless of the reason, after a lot of determination, and hours, and mental gymnastics, it works and I can go on with my life.  It’s always a battle, but it’s super important that I win out.  My very survival depends upon it.

Being creative, sharing your ideas, and taking chances are all similar fights.  In his incredible book, The War of Art, author Steven Pressfield talks about our battles in overcoming what he calls Resistance (with a capital R) and how we not only need to do the work that makes us happy and creative, we must do the work that makes us happy and creative.  It’s a moral imperative.

I’ll be talking a lot about Pressfield and his book on this blog, to be sure.  It’s one of the most important books I’ve ever read and I can easily say without hyperbole, it changed my life.  I hope you buy it and take it for a test drive yourself.

But in the meantime, know that anything worth doing that raises our value and worth up a notch is a battle.  When our brains want to spend all of their time laundry-listing, or recalling obscure song lyrics, or planning tomorrow night’s dinner, know that it’s just Resistance and it can be beaten.  Get your brain, body, and spirit in alignment and focus.  Dig deep.  Finish that song you started writing.  Sign up for that acting class you’ve been thinking about taking.  Put together the plan for the business you’ve been dreaming of starting.  Begin those children’s books you’ve always wanted to write.  Please.  It’s a moral imperative.

It takes A LOT of work, concentration, and determination to win the battle.  But it’s super important that you win out.  We need you.  Our very survival depends upon it.  And no, you cannot have dessert until you eat your peas.  So, turn around in your seat, stop hitting your sister, and do the work.  Or else.

©2012 adrian varnam. All Rights Reserved.

Technorati Tags: Self