Quenching my Thirst with Living Water

A musing about the nature of creativity

This article originally appeared on my personal blog, Clinsights, here.

Editor’s Note: In two days, this post will be locked and is available only to paid members because we don’t want this duplicate content on the open web in a way that might draw traffic away from the original post. You can always read the entire post here.

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I am adrift, alone across a metaphorical ocean, searching everywhere for fresh water, for living water to quench my thirst. We all are adrift perhaps, seeking such fresh water.

So I write. I must write. There is nothing to do but write. Nothing to do but create. Nothing to do but to document this aimless journey through space and time as experienced by a human. Writing is my living water and it, along with other forms of creation, quenches my thirst.

And sometimes, I share what I’ve written. Perhaps a few people read it, perhaps none. That can be frustrating when one pours their heart into their work and then releases into a silent void. It cuts a bit when I share my writing and nobody reads it, but it cuts far deeper not to write at all. So, I write, first and foremost for myself. Beyond quenching my parched soul, all else surrounding the work is irrelevant, although I forget that sometimes. Having someone read my writing is not the point and is irrelevant. "Monetizing" the work is irrelevant. "Going Viral" is irrelevant. All surrounding the work is dust in the wind. What is real is the writing. What is real is the worship I call creation.

“I think therefore I am,” Descartes said.

I know that I am because I experience. And in my experience, I write constantly in my mind, however, only a tiny bit ever makes it to paper and a smaller amount still is shared publicly. Perhaps the ideas and thoughts that I mentally write are being logged by The Source somewhere. I hope so. But for now, I think and I am and I write what I think to temporarily satiate that unquenchable thirst.

I don’t write because I took a course. Or because I read a book. Or because a podcast “guru” told me to make money doing “digital writing.” I do it because I must. It is my way in the world. Far be it for me to give advice to others, but you must find your own way in the world.

I would humbly suggest that, at first, you forget all the programs, and methods, and coaches, and gurus, and books, and podcasts, and blogs, and tweets, and all of the other resources of the world that pretend to help you "be successful.” Because deep down, if you are honest with yourself, you know that most of those are just entertainment that goes into your mind and then disappears like the dust I mentioned above.

Stop seeking pretend solutions and find that one thing that quenches your thirst. When you do, you will be on fire and will drink from it like a shriveled lost soul in the desert drinks from an oasis. And once you drink deeply of such living waters, you will find yourself automatically improving, then succeeding, and then becoming a master. At that point, when the student is ready, a real teacher will appear. Perhaps not. But you will know if there is a coach, or book, or podcast to pursue, and you will pursue it with laser focus to get what you need to move to your highest level of mastery. Once attained, perhaps you will inspire someone else to seek their own living water.

Doing and Being is the only way to improve, not reading about doing or being. And so, drink deeply and you will become a master, even if nobody knows it. And it may hurt not to achieve outward success, but no matter, your thirst will be quenched. And that is the main thing. Almost the only thing. And so, I have quenched my thirst for the moment. I have gulped down enough to satisfy me temporarily. And whether anyone reads this or not, I am glad for having written it. And with that, I see an opportune place to grab an ending, so I think that I will take it.

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