Nothing Lasts Forever & My Work is the Same

 Nothing lasts forever, so why bother creating anything?

1. When people say "nothing lasts forever", it's both a promise and a threat. Good times fade, so you should hang onto them. Bad times don't stick around, and you can be certain better days will find you. Create to remember the good and make sense of the bad.

2. Some people think it's quite freeing. If your mistakes won't make it into the history books, it means you're able to take greater risks without considering the permanence and scrutiny. Why not attempt to fly?

3. Light spreads. If you've ever been to a candle ceremony, you will remember the way the fire spreads from each person until tiny flames flood the space. We are like that: A tiny light spreading to others. But, our lights don't just spread around us... they can leap into the future. Who inspired Leonardo Da Vinci when he was a child? Who instilled the trait of encouragement in that person? Even the dead endure beyond trace memory. We go onward with our intangible, whimsical beauty.

My work is the same as everyone else's.

1. The best writers and artists on this planet are included in "everyone else". Stephen King is someone else. Mary Oliver is someone else. Every person you hold up as a hero or god of the craft is literally part of everyone. As are you. If we're all in the mosh pit, we have great company.

2. If you mean you're just like the "unknown" people, the next wave of famous people come from the current pool of unknown artists. You are literally where "future greatness" is made. You are to the left of the spotlight with the folks poised to change the world. Not bad!

3. If you mean your art just isn't "good", quality is subjective in art. We have a bunch of genres and art types because a lot of readers/buyers want different experiences! Uniqueness will come in time as you strengthen your craft, so being "derivative" (or the fear of it) shouldn't factor in as you progress.

I hope this takes two excuses out of the myriad of negativity plaguing my fellow creatives. Onward, ever onward!