Fresh

Some Thoughts on Novelty and “Re-vision”

Sometimes we only want something because it is fresh. We want it not because it is substantial, not because it is what we need, but because it is something different and new. I fear this is the same mentality that has crept into my mind in regard to writing. I don’t want to post something old. I want to post something new, something that just came piping-hot from the oven of my mind. The fear comes from the same thing though: new things, fresh things, have not be tried, they haven’t withstood time or critique or even my own honest “re-view,” so they can potentially be empty of anything good.

Now,  I find that when something has been created, or in my case, written by me, I easily fall in love with it. It’s like a little baby, my very own creation. “I just made this!” I say with a self-congratulating grin. I then proceed to read over and marvel at myself. It’s like a little boy who is building a sand castle all by himself, and upon finishing, he sits right up close to it and examines it, with delight in its perfection. Yet, what he fails to see when up close is how lopsided and small it really is. He needs only to step back and compare it to its surroundings. Then he will see its smallness in comparison to something greater, stronger, and beautiful.

In the same way, after having written something, I often see it days later as the crooked tower that it is. My initial love has faded and I dare to take an honest look. “O my,” I say, and my mouth remains open. And all its incompleteness and crookedness begins to show.

I don’t know if I’ve convinced you of this sad reality or not. I am hoping you relate, but using the same analogy I want to encourage you. The boy who built the sand castle enjoyed making it. He didn’t care that he accidentally got sand in his eye when making it or that the waves came soon after and dissolved it into nothing. His joy was in the creation process. Another opportunity will come and he will make a bigger and better sand castle. He will learn and continue to grow.