We Are Here to CREATE!

Perfectly Paleo Exercise

“At dawn, when you have trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself: ‘I have to go to work – as a human being. What do I have to complain of, if I’m going to do what I was born for – the things I was brought into the world to do? Or is this what I was created for? To huddle under the blankets and stay warm?’”- Marcus Aurelius


I am utterly convinced now of the importance of creating something as part of a healthy lifestyle- a paleo type of lifestyle!

It’s not all just about eating right, sleeping well, keeping in touch with your “tribe” and family, and doing proper exercise in the beauty of nature.  Of course, as I go about ad nauseum on my podcasts and blogs, all of those things are just crucial to total health and well-being.  But there is one more aspect of life that, if ignored, will leave you ultimately unfulfilled and even not fully a realized human being- creation!

Now, I don’t mean you have to sculpt statues or paint works of art.  (Although those would be great!)  I just mean, you need to have things that you work at, things that use your skills to realize the creation of something, anything really, of value.  And it could just be of value to you, even if no one else appreciates what you create, heck- maybe you are like Van Gogh, and will be revered after your death.  It doesn’t really matter though- it needs to be something that fulfills you.

Maybe you love to cook, and you take one day to master a particular recipe- great!  You are a creator- for that day.  The thing is, though, you need to create pretty much daily, or at least most days.  We are not meant to live our lives to be “entertained”, but sadly, in our modern processed food world, most of us increasingly are relying on “processed entertainment” to keep us occupied.

Even if you get up early as I recommend after a good 8-9 hours of sleep, exercise thoroughly from your head to your toes, drink your fat-laden coffee and your green smoothie, and then meditate or pray for 20 minutes… well, that’s not enough.  Not really, although you will be amazingly healthy after a bit of living like that, and will look and feel great.  You will be vibrant and alive with healthy energy, and will enjoy going to the grocery of the farmer’s market, stocking your larder, and planning wonderful family meals.

Let’s say you also have an ample income, and are quite secure in your home life and financial situation.  You go to a great church, you volunteer and do things for charity, and are giving by helping out with friends, family, and neighbors.  All of that is wonderful, and your life will be quite full and fulfilling to a large extent.

But- if you fill your quiet time, your time alone, by watching movies, reading books, watching televised sports, and surfing the internet randomly… you are not a fully autonomous, fulfilled human being.  You will feel a lack.  That is a lack of creative purpose!

Remember when you were a young boy or girl- when you awakened in the morning, you could scarcely wait to jump out of bed and start in on your latest infatuation!  Whether it was your dollhouse, or your little fort you were building with your brother, that creative endeavor was so exciting and energizing that you could hardly stand it to stay in bed one more instant- you wanted to create.

This want, or need to create never leaves us.  We leave it, moving on to more “grown up” pursuits, usually making money takes over.  And making money, while necessary, it is so easy to let it consume us.  After you have enough, when you can live a relatively relaxed life without material want, (which is the state of most Americans today, whether they realize it or not), it is time to recognize your true calling.  To create!

To grow a garden, or sew a quilt.  To make music, or write a book.  You can build a hot-rod, or restore a motorcycle.  The point is, it doesn’t matter what your subconscious- your right brain- tells you would fulfill you.  But you have to listen!  You can’t drown out that little inward voice by binge watching Netflix or Amazon Prime video for hours, or studying up on the NFL fantasy football stats.  Not even by reading great classics of literature, although that is great in and of itself, that is still “consumption”.

And we are all, all of us here, I firmly believe- to create.

And, just as in ignoring our evolutionary biology by eating modern processed fake foods will destroy us physically and mentally,   leading us down the pharmaceutical drug based yellow brick road of sickness and the symptom-masking dependence on ever more and more drugs and medical procedures-

So will ignoring the biological, evolutionary imperative need to be creative crush both our clear vision of just why we are here, and what we are here for- it will crush our spirit.

Whatever your prime directive is, it is within you.  Don’t stifle it, and most especially don’t stifle it in the endless acquisition of, and fascination with- money!  Your true, evolutionary, paleolithic, right-brained intuitive self, the one that jumped out of bed instantly to get to work on the latest creation as a child knows- that is just a distraction, a distraction from our real purpose.

We are here to create.