The importance of giving voice to your vision...
Vitally creative people have the ability to see the world as it actually is, and therefore, how it’s going to be. For our purposes, we’ll call this vision. Creatives have vision. What transforms a creative person into a truly great artist is giving a voice to that vision. This is a massive responsibility.
In Biblical times, it was the prophets who had vision. God gave Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekial, Habakkuk, and many other men and women the ability to see their world as it actually was and what it was to become. The prophet’s job, or calling, was to give voice to that reality in the hopes of steering their community back onto the right path. The problem was, and is, that most people have a hard time with reality, especially when that reality reveals some ugliness or deficiency within their own life. Because of this, the prophet’s voice wasn’t often a popular one. In fact, many of these men and women were put to death by stoning, sawed in two, or killed with swords. (Hebrews 11:37) Obviously the Israelites had never heard of, “Don’t shoot the messenger.”
So why? Why would these prophets continue to give voice to their vision? Why couldn’t they just shut their mouths? It’s the same reason the innovative creators of tomorrow won’t shut their mouths. Great artists understand, like the prophets did, that they have an incredible responsibility to give voice to their vision, no matter what the cost. If not, then who will lead us toward progress? If the choice few who have the necessary vision to see a brighter future do not step up and take that responsibility seriously, then I believe we are doomed to a future that looks eerily similar to the dark days described in the Bible.
If your creativity has given you vision, then the world is waiting for you. We are waiting for you to give voice to your vision through story, technology, design, or whatever your art may be. We are waiting for you to usher us into the future. I promise we won’t stone you.
In Biblical times, it was the prophets who had vision. God gave Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekial, Habakkuk, and many other men and women the ability to see their world as it actually was and what it was to become. The prophet’s job, or calling, was to give voice to that reality in the hopes of steering their community back onto the right path. The problem was, and is, that most people have a hard time with reality, especially when that reality reveals some ugliness or deficiency within their own life. Because of this, the prophet’s voice wasn’t often a popular one. In fact, many of these men and women were put to death by stoning, sawed in two, or killed with swords. (Hebrews 11:37) Obviously the Israelites had never heard of, “Don’t shoot the messenger.”
So why? Why would these prophets continue to give voice to their vision? Why couldn’t they just shut their mouths? It’s the same reason the innovative creators of tomorrow won’t shut their mouths. Great artists understand, like the prophets did, that they have an incredible responsibility to give voice to their vision, no matter what the cost. If not, then who will lead us toward progress? If the choice few who have the necessary vision to see a brighter future do not step up and take that responsibility seriously, then I believe we are doomed to a future that looks eerily similar to the dark days described in the Bible.
If your creativity has given you vision, then the world is waiting for you. We are waiting for you to give voice to your vision through story, technology, design, or whatever your art may be. We are waiting for you to usher us into the future. I promise we won’t stone you.
