Tag: thinking
Big Picture Before Tiny Technicalities
This week has been a bit of a drag when it comes to music production. A couple weeks back, I realized that if I didn’t pick up the pace and start planning out deadlines for the pieces I wanted in Cloudland Connections, it would be the only major music project I’d release in 2017, and even then, that’s being optimistic. So far, though, sticking to it has not been going well—not because of procrastination, but because of something I’m going to be touching on in this post.
Creative Burnout and What Causes It
If you’ve ever tried to pursue a creative field as a career, or even just as a routine hobby, you may have experienced what a lot of people call “burnout”. It’s when the craft that you used to love starts to feel so tedious and aggravating that you begin to wonder whether or not it’s worth your time anymore. I know this from experience—as I write this, I’m currently on a semester-long leave from studying musical composition at the University of Southern Maine. At this point, I don’t know if I’ll continue with this major, but there were a number of things that pushed me to the point where I felt I needed a break. Some may have been beyond my control, but in this post, I’m going to be focusing on the ones that certainly were, and how they can bring the creative train to a screeching halt if you’re not careful.
Pondering a Lifetime of Struggle
I’m no stranger to having to suppress certain characteristics of mine. Being an Aspie (though many people may not be familiar with this term, considering Asperger’s syndrome is no longer considered medically relevant), I’m used to refraining from doing certain things that would seem bizarre to the average person. One big thing is something known as “stimming”—usually in the form of flapping the hands or bouncing around, or even both combined when Aspies are in deep thought. For me, it usually takes the form of pacing. I pace a lot when I think. For obvious reasons, I’ve learned to suppress that in order to avoid distracting people around me, especially when in public.
God’s Presence in Biblical Times vs. Modern Day
If you’ve read the literature on my home or music pages, you’ve probably noticed my mentions of God and Christ, and have figured out that I’m a Christian. These days, it seems that many Christians are seen as old-fashioned, weak-minded people who blindly go along with something because it gives them hope. This is actually to be expected, considering the Bible states numerous times that the children of God will be despised by man. My dad once said that the Gospel was as simple as it is because it makes it accessible to virtually anyone, regardless of their level of intelligence. This is not to say that everyone who believes the Bible is unintelligent, as that would be slander against my family and my church, as well as myself. In fact, the purpose of this post is to look at a passage and show how something seemingly completely disconnected from reality has an explanation.