Response to "Rituals of Preperation

Twyla Tharp's comments in this selection could not be more true. For some reason, it always seems that the human tendency is to want to be lazy and never get started on the task at hand. Regardless of the magnitude of the task, human nature seems to prohibit us from getting going, and the more important the task, the harder the start becomes. Rituals are the conscious solution to the laziness of the sun conscious mind. For example, although Tharp's subconscious may prohibit her from truly desiring to get up, get dressed, go to the gym, and then perform a worthwhile workout, her conscious mind can tell her to get up and get in a cab, at which point, desire is no longer a factor in the decision since logic would prevent her from turning back when she has already made such progress.

Traditional fear of failure prevents me from getting started on the video project. With little experience making video, and the apparent expertise of many members of the class, there are no guarantees that my project will bring me the sense of satisfaction and accomplishment that I always strive to achieve in my work. However, I believe that I have discovered the trigger that will help me not only get started, but finish a with a quality product.

If I could give up one thing for a week to clear distractions from my creative process, it would be movies. I am a movie junkie. Anytime a movie that I may even remotely like comes on to one of the movie channels, it becomes a necessity that I sit and watch it in its entirety. Without movies, I would watch 25% of the television that I currently watch, and would clear countless hours that could be reallocated to more productive activities. Not to say that I don't believe movies have positively affected me. I believe that quality of my creative process, and my openness and inquisitiveness about the world have stemmed from viewing hundreds of movies on both the big screen and at home. However, sometimes one needs to clear a path through the creative genius of others to allow personal creation and genius to freely flow.