More F(!)AQs

Is Generativity a substitute for “Spirituality?”


No one holds “sweats” or goes on “quests” for generativity. It is a concept that is free from sentimentality and the craving for personal release from suffering or for salvation from sin.
But it is not devoid of spirituality-like connotations:  to live in face of generativity we conceive our lives ecologically as part of a multiplicity of living and non-living energies, materials, relations, histories and genealogies. Ethically, it demands a rigorous life of practice and devotion to being open to the Impossible, to choosing what can change us.
But all of this is without the expectation of blissful release or salvation that “spirituality” affords; and without the conceptual certainties that notions such as God afford, or the expectations of riches, even happiness, that offer consolation in the future for suffering now undergone.
To step into generativity means walking bareheaded in the thunderstorm, as the great Breakout Creative poet Holderlin said. The “gods” of realization may appear, but they will also vanish; they may inspire, but they will depress; and these gods are known to no one else.
One cannot look to generativity for spiritual uplift; but the work of generativity may offer unequaled joy for the Breakout Creative.


Are Breakout Creatives all Great Personages?


Yes and no. We cite people of renown as reference points and short cuts for making our ideas clearer and more useful to people sooner.
But none of the Breakout Creatives I know personally are known by the world at large. They are people that make an impression, make a difference and are deeply appreciated by many in their respective communities.
But they are not famous.
What they are is great. And by this I mean these people all live their lives with a commitment to open themselves to the demands and the peculiar joys of creativity. They all choose what can change them, so that they can thrive in their challenging lives.
But, that said, the Breakout Creatives are not “better” people than others. Many are very hard to get along with; some are unreliable in terms of everyday life; some are reclusive and others are bossy. I am not a Breakout Creative, and yet I help these people fulfill their lives by helping them build bridges among their widely dispersing energies, and to see the power and value in what they do (for no money, mostly).
We need teachers, nurses, doctors and firefighters and farmers and pilots and soldiers and executives and computer code writers, I could go on and on, just as much as we need Breakout Creatives. And we need just good, solid, caring, fair-minded and trustworthy people.
But I write about these because they are so hidden or even degraded, in our homogenized, materialist culture. By not being able to embrace and express their peculiar ways of living, these people suffer so. And because they are the progenitors of how the creative spark is initiated and propagated in our human world, they are great treasures walking, with no name, among us. While most have “day jobs,” they know they take great risks in terms of income, stability, recognition and community the more they venture full bore into their driving passion. And yet, they do. And so, yes, they are “great.” But not “better” than many of us.