Pond Prompts - 9/24/07

Is creating "beautiful art" more important than the process of creating?

Absolutely not! Creating is a noble thing to do, regardless of quality. At least, in my opinion, visual arts. Writing is unique because it is an art that is also useful and necessary in everyday life. You can write creatively, but you must also write well in order to communicate.

Remember, too, that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. There have been photographs I've taken that I may not like, but other people do. You never know what other people will enjoy and why. Obviously, some standards have to be set to put things in museums, but I think there is potential in any piece of art. Just the fact it was created at all is impressive and a testament to the power of humanity.

If you could be any person in the world, who would you be, and why?

At this moment, I don't think I'd want any one person's life. I want resources and experiences, yes, but is it really better to be someone else? Other people have successes, failures, and problems just like I do. No one has a perfect life. No one. I could choose to switch places with someone rich or famous, but then I'd just inherit the problems that come with money and fame.

It's also impossible to 'be' someone else. If I were, say, Paul McCartney, I might have his name but I wouldn't have his mind. I might not have his talent. I may have decided I didn't like John Lennon and then the Beatles would never start. Even if I became Paul McCartney right now, Paul's future life would take a different turn.

I'm finding it difficult to clearly say what I mean in the above paragraph, but the basic question is - who are we? What makes us who we are? Is it our names? If people actually switched identities and bodies, would they actually be that same person?

Is that what a soul is? Is it that one particular thing that makes us individuals, regardless of name, face, body, etc.? I could think about this forever, but I'll end here. I'm not religious, but I think perhaps we do, indeed, have souls.