What do you want? Ok, the first things that may pop into mind are: money, sex, immortality, health, love, respect, accomplishment, tranquility…but those things are more like goals than wants. When you really think about it, those things are fleeting, like memories from long ago. Let’s say you want money, and then you get it…there’s only a few things that can happen next. You either want more money. You spend your money. Or else you sit on your money and are satisfied. Sex is great but once you have it you pretty much need to wait to recharge for a while depending on your physical and emotional endurance. Health is cool but most fun things in life either slowly or quickly kill you. Respect is only fun as long as you get it before people start expecting results in exchange for their respect. Then you need to do things in real life in order to maintain or grow that respect. Accomplishment feels great and does wonders for your reputation and self-esteem not to mention that it can possibly boost your financial success. The only problem is that attaining accomplishment oftentimes takes a great deal of work. And you will probably have to forgo on the other items mentioned above in order to accomplish things. And tranquility is very nice but after a while you will start to feel either bored or unworthy. It is only a matter of time before tranquility bends before the pull of chaos in your own mind as well as in nature. The still ocean will always ripple once the volcano erupts. So if what we usually think of as our wants are actually just goals and fleeting ones that that, then what do we want?

We want to create. This may seem strange because you might be reading this right now and be thinking to yourself, “I’m not very creative…but my cousin is.” Or else, “I haven’t felt creative for a long time. I know what I really want.” Do you remember creating something? It can be anything really. It could be a sandcastle with your mother or brother years ago. As the ocean came and wet the sand, you used the wet sand as the base material for your castle. Then you scooped up dry sand and sprinkled it atop your creation in order to make it stay in a more permanent shape…only to watch it disappear under the tide. Eroded away by the very waters that held your creation together. But in that moment when you were creating your vision, you were doing what you wanted to do. And it probably didn’t feel amazingly overwhelmingly pleasurable. And it didn’t feel bad either. Making it felt pretty good, and the small amount of pleasure you gained from making progress toward your vision sustained you like a small meal and water. And it gave you the strength and endurance to create more. Because in that series of connected, seamless moments, you had a clear yet formless and sublime purpose. And with that sense of purpose you worked as if your work had meaning. Thus making it so it didn’t really feel like you were working at all, despite the sweat on your brow and sand in your nails.

Creation is what makes human beings, human beings. Without the ability to create, we would be something less than human. Creation is something that can bring those other goals that we mentioned earlier into fruition easily. If you can create often, people will think of you differently than your less creative peers and you will notice that more opportunities will come your way. When you have a taste of creativity you may notice that you actually feel different. Being creative feels different from being non-creative, it’s really that simple. And being creative actually feels better than how you feel when you are non-creative. So if that’s true than why don’t we try and feel creative and create all the time? The reason for this is because creativity is a skill, not an emotion or state of mind. People may try and convince you that creativity is a gift that SOME people have, but they say those things because they truly don’t understand what they’re talking about and they want to maintain their level of prestige and/or respect so they say some people who are creative are “gifted.” What is really going on is that creativity is something that you experience when you are very young because you are excited by the world and your inexperienced sense organs. Then some people consciously make the decision when they get older to either explore their creativity and hone it, or else to work on other things. It really doesn’t get any simpler than that. Creativity may seem like a spark of divine inspiration, but what it really is, is a catalyst that can either start a chain reaction of movement that expresses some part or perhaps even your entire being. Or else it is a catalyst that is blocked by desires.

Now you may be thinking, “Wait isn’t wanting to create a desire? So wouldn’t I want to desire to be creative?” Well, in short, no. Creativity is not a desire. The act of creation is motion. You don’t think about it or desire it. You simply act and do it. You put the pen to paper and begin writing. You turn on the computer and begin typing. You pull out the pencil and begin drawing. You put on your shoes and begin walking. You step into the water and begin swimming. You put on whatever clothing or outfit you need in order to set your mind in motion. It isn’t a desire. It is more like a choice. It is like choosing between being a powerful person or a weak one. Who really wants to be a weak person? Nobody really. But the difference is that a weak person doesn’t know how to become powerful. And a powerful person makes a choice not to be any other kind of person.

When I started this website in its original form all I knew was that I wanted to do one thing: disseminate information. I didn’t really know or care about what information it was going to be at the time. All I knew what that I wanted to do it. I felt that I had something to share. Looking back the decision I made to create this website and share information was one of the utmost best decisions I have ever made in my entire life. Why? Because sharing information has been a vehicle for my creativity to grow and connect with other people. And out of those connections, I’ve been able to find the glass of water and piece of bread that I have needed, in order to stay creative. If it wasn’t for every single visitor and viewer on this website, I would not feel as creative and pumped on life as I do today. And for that I thank you and every visitor that has come before you. Because you are the reason why I create, which is invariably the reason why I choose to exist.

-Tyler

Click the picture for Snow White facts

I was at Starbucks getting my usual Caramel Macchiato and I saw two princesses walk into the store! They were two girls who looked like they were in high school or something that were dressed up. They looking so cute. There was one girl who was dressed as Snow White and I couldn’t tell who the other girl was supposed to be. The other girl was dressed in a huge pink dress. I was stumped on what character she was supposed to be so I asked, “I know you are supposed to be Snow White, (then looking at the girl in the pink dress) but who are you supposed to be?” The girl in the pink dress replied, “My, you don’t know your princesses very well do you?” I then smiled and nodded. She then said, “My friend is Snow White, and I am Sleeping Beauty!” I was really surprised to hear that because I had forgotten that Sleeping Beauty wore pink. But now I remember the scene in the end of the movie where her dress is changing colors from pink to blue.

I asked Sleeping Beauty earlier in their visit if they were on their way to a party or some kind of event and she said, “We’re just getting coffee!” I laughed and then Snow White said, “It’s been a long day in the castle.” I thought those girls were pretty funny. I love seeing people dressed up. Now it has been two days in a row that I’ve seen people in costume, the first day being the time I saw Iron Man at the movie theater. There is something special about seeing people dressed up. It’s like having a special moment added to your day which will make the memory stick around forever. I remember the time I dressed up as Toad from Super Mario Bros. 2 for Halloween in San Francisco. I went into my Biology class and took a test with this giant mushroom hat. Then on the bus guess what happened! I ran into Princess Peach and Super Mario! It was so funny. I even hung out with the two of them for the huge street party. It was a lot of fun.

This brings me to think about modern fashion. It seems that people’s clothing these days doesn’t look very costume-like. It is pretty functional clothing. I guess when you look at high fashion in big cities you notice people dressing up more. But usually, here in Southern California it seems like people wear exercise clothing in the morning and early afternoon. And in the evening men wear jeans and women wear shirts and dresses very rarely. It isn’t extremely exciting. I get a lot of comments on the T-Shirts that I wear and that’s usually because I’m wearing one of my 80’s Transformers shirts or my spaceship shirt. But when you think about it, people really notice clothing. Some people say your clothing is what people use to quickly ascertain your status and station in life. I seem to agree. I can almost tell if someone is homeless or not by this certain way the dirt cakes the clothing. And then people who are wearing expensive clean clothes often appear to be rich or put together. But looks can be deceiving.

-Tyler