Idealist > Realist > Surrealist

When I was young, I was an idealist. I found beauty, wonder, and meaning everywhere I looked. When I got older, I became a realist. I saw a world of rough edges and difficult truths. This grew tiresome. I decided to be a surrealist. Things got pretty weird after that. ~ @grantdraws of Incidental Comics

This could very well be my life story in a nutshell.

I was brooding yet idealistic in my 20s. Stuff I would say then, I would cringe now (don’t we all). Money didn’t matter, passion did. Lamenting the materialism of modernity. When passion becomes a career, work becomes play. A willing victim of my imagination.

I’m definitely in full-on realist stage now in my 40s. Financial independence and money couldn’t be a greater priority. Sandwiched between my elderly parents and my young kid, family needs run my life. My ideals start to feels more distant by the day, as I struggle to keep up with even just waking up, getting enough sleep, keep weight gain out, earning enough money. There’s enough hard problems to manage. Ideals had it’s heyday, now it can take a break, forever perhaps. Things that were non-negotiable previously – spiritual practices, meditation, doing work for passion, not caring about material needs, are now negotiated downwards on a daily basis. There are definitely good bits, but I can’t honestly say I’m enjoying it all. And like the quote, it’s getting tiresome indeed.

So I’m actually quite looking forward to the surrealist season to come. By definition, surrealism has these elements:

• Dream-like scenes and symbolic images
• Unexpected, illogical juxtapositions
• Bizarre assemblages of ordinary objects
• Spontaneity, random effects
• Distorted figures and biomorphic shapes

That sounds like unfettered, deep subconscious creativity. Pretty crazy, but in a good way. What will I be thinking and creating in that future?

Can’t wait!