Giving Life Meaning: Here's to the Creators

It is only recently that people collector isn’t an accurate description. It seems I have surrounded myself with painters, sculptors, musicians, comedians, writers, etc. I have surrounded myself with the most brilliant creators one can know, and they are some of the best at what they do. I have come to realize in my life that they are some of the best humans I know as well.

It seems I more of a creator collector.

On some level I considered myself a kindred spirit to most of them, I mean I write on here and share it, but my life also connects me to people who are tapped into the best of the human spirit, and I often say it is the creators who help make life worth living. I am always amazed at these alchemists and what they can weave from thin air, be it a poem, a painting, or a particularly pointed observation on the human condition. Many drive relationships at a fundamental level and inform them as we try and navigate the world as cleanly as we can around each other.

When times are particularly rough, I can always pick up a book that either informs my work or takes me far away from it. In the quiet moments of rest, I can pull up a video from pals like comedians Drew Morgan and DJ Lewis and laugh for a bit. It is a welcome escape for a moment. Drew’s bits on roasting cars and the Proud Boys helped keep me sane during the pandemic.

I have also spent a lot of time in quiet contemplation looking upon a painting, from a national gallery or a local art sale, that tells its own underlying tale.

I write this because one of these friends long ago once said to me that I do actual important work, and he just tells jokes.

It is so much more than that.

Creators are some of the most thoughtful and genuine people I know. They possess an ability to see the world in ways others don’t, along with having a particular talent for communicating these observations through their chosen medium. It enriches us personally and it enriches the world at large.

I have made friends with a medieval historian and British author recently, and I have really enjoyed our occasional exchanges on WhatsApp. He has been quite a bright light at times we have spoken. He only has a small idea of what is going on where I work but I think he too has an appreciation for the time as well. His random messages with the absurd goings on where he is have landed at particularly perfect times when things have felt quite strained here. He is an incredibly talented writer, but he is also funny as hell too.

I mean my brother’s ashes sit on the shelf behind me in my writing room, so I know full well the effects of the opiate crisis. My brother was hilarious, and I know he would have laughed as well. It provided a moment of levity, reminded me of my irreverent brother’s sense of humor I loved so much, and pulled me from the darkness where I often wander for a bit.

All that to say I hope those who create know how much their creativity and resulting creations drive the people who often choose to stay in that darkness with others as they try and figure out a way to the light. We need the beauty. We need the silliness and the laughs. We need the perspectives. We need the escape. We need art that challenges us— and forces us to be more thoughtful and introspective— lest we gather moss from the stasis that comes from sedentary thinking.

Lmnopi is a muralist I came to know when we did a project together long ago. Her work is brilliant and the human beings she pulls from her head to paint upon massive walls are just astonishingly beautiful. Her musings on life when we have talked in the past are brilliant as well and helped me to see a situation a bit differently where I am. Her words and work have inspired me.

I so value my friendships with people like Lee Bains III, the gospel punk poet of Alabama who has been the soundtrack of community organizing efforts all over the state and a good deal of my personal life. I have told him repeatedly what his work means to me. When we throw on some music at a community gathering the problems that surround us melt away. People laugh and dance and forget their cares if only for an evening. I cannot imagine a world without music or a world without Lee.

Rivers Langley is another comedian friend of mine who has not only provided laughs more times than I can count, but who has also raised funds for our work here using the talent and connections he has. As I told my friend years ago it’s so much more than jokes. His podcast is just fun when I need something fun. I can’t even think of the guy without smiling.

On top of sharing their talents with the world, creative people are often the most giving of themselves as well. One of my all-time favorite days was spent with Lee Bains III, Drew Morgan, and DJ Lewis when they helped us put on a fundraiser in Alabama for the striking coal miners in Brookwood, Alabama. Tom Morello showed up a few months later but, as exciting as that day was, it paled in comparison to being side by side with my friends working for the people.

Bay Kelley is one of my favorite humans who focuses on bringing people together using art. His efforts have built a really amazing community locally where many of us would have never collided without his work. Creators bring people together.

With all that said, it is apparent I truly “collect” creators for who they are as human beings more than what they produce. While what they produce is important— as it provides entertainment, joy, a new perspective, etc.— I think who they are as people is what sets them apart. While I am appreciative for the joy, entertainment, and perspective they have provided me, I am more grateful for who they are as people.

As I mentioned earlier, creators are tapped into something not everyone is. Thankfully, along with that, it seems most have an insatiable desire to build something from that connection and share it with us all. They possess an ability to either separate themselves from a day-to-day grind and focus on making something new, or they at least have the ability to observe and do their work alongside the trials that come with existing from one day to the next.

My own drive to create is to be able to process my experiences. I am hopeful I too provide at least a tiny bit of what I have described for others. This whole idea for writing this piece has been rattling around in the ol’ brainbox for over a year now, and I have wanted for a long time to convey to the people I have written about just how much they and their work means on a level I’m sure many haven’t considered.

Some creators help educate and inform. Some provide joy in the times when things seem overwhelming. All are important.

It’s not just a joke, or just a book, or just a painting. It is a connection. It is an escape for a time. It is a perspective that changes an entire effort as it grows from seeds of ideas we discover in the creations of others.

Creators provide the brilliant flourishes within the tapestry that makes up humanity.

Creators are a vital part of the frontline work we do whether they know it or not.

I am thankful for all that I have come to know over the past decade and the joy, education, and laughs they have provided. They have helped keep me moving forward more times that I can recall. I am grateful they share their work with the world. More importantly I am grateful for who they are as human beings and for their kindness and friendship.

Now to take Labor Day off and read something completely unrelated to anything I am working on. You should too. Here’s to the creators!