In today’s culture, much of our free time is spent consuming. Whether it be food or media or entertainment. Shopping for things we need and things we don’t. We’re constantly taking something in and constantly wanting for more. More food, more stuff, more social media, all in the hopes it will make us happy or make us numb to our lack thereof. Yet no matter how much we consume, we’re never quite satiated.
What if instead of always consuming we started creating? Creating art or memories or music. Writing, designing, crafting, cooking, building. Creating, in a sense, is the opposite of consuming. Creating something leaves us with something to show for our time, where consuming leaves us with nothing but a temporary fix. Creating requires thought. It exercises the mind like running exercises the body. When you’ve created something you feel productive and proud. It’s satisfying. Consuming takes on the guise of satisfaction yet never leaves us feeling good in the end. I love the idea of a 4 hour television binge but at the end I just feel kind of gross. Creating, on the other hand, can be hard work at times, but there’s no better feeling than having created something from nothing.
This website is a result of my goal to create more and consume less. I used to wake up and surf instagram every morning but it was leaving me feeling icky. Though I loved the idea of it and was drawn to my phone like a moth to a flame the moment I woke up, I began to see that I was giving it my time and it wasn’t giving me much in return. So I decided to wake up every morning and write instead. Before doing anything else. All those mornings surfing social media merely vanished. But now, every morning when I write, I have something to show for my time. One article led to two, two led to three and before I knew it I had a catalog of thoughts to share. My time spent creating had become something. And every time I hit publish, I felt proud that I’d created something to put out in to the world. Something that would hopefully light a spark in someone else.
You can create for fun. You can create for profit. You can create simply for yourself or you can create for others. No matter the intent, just start creating something. It could be serious or silly, artistic or technical. It could have deep meaning or simply be expressive. Whatever it is, take something from inside yourself and make something with it. It’s fun, it’s fulfilling and it will make you proud in a way that consuming never will.