The Hipster and The Hymn

Most people in our generation would consider themselves creative.

It seems like every person I meet between the ages of 13-25 either play guitar, sing, paint, write poetry, draw, dance or something else creative.

I think the reason for this is vast and very culture related but because of this identity we portray ourselves as, I wanted to talk about where that art comes from.

Whether we like to admit it or not the life we live affects the art we make.

Whether we live in the suburbs, the city, the country, whether we have parents who are divorced or stayed together, whether we have ten siblings or none, whether we were popular in school or not, whether our friends are real or shallow, etc. etc.

The life we live affects the art we make.

The paintings, songs, poems, drawings, and even dance pieces that we create are all fed by the life we live.

I say all of this to encourage you to think about the life you live.

We all want to make better art, why don’t we start living better lives.

I constantly struggle with my art not being good enough, most of us do. I look for inspiration and come up with writers block. I wonder why my art doesn’t live up to the standard in my head, or the standard I have portrayed of someone else. 

I have realized that it is because I spend my time behind a computer trying to make art.

The well of my life and experiences will soon run dry if my life continues to look like it does. In order to tell a beautiful story, especially in the context of non-fiction like I write, I should be living a better story.

Donald Miller, one of my favorite authors, talks a lot about this in his book “A Million Miles In A Thousand Years”. 

I encourage you artists, you creative people, those of you who have a yearning to create something unique and magnificent to impact others, start living a life that you want your art to reflect.

We have a God who created all of us so uniquely. We have the chance to live a life that no one else has or ever will live and we have the opportunity to tell the story of that life through our art. Go out and live it.