make art in the void
part of a series on world-building
make art in the void. share your work like no one cares. put it in a sacred place that belongs to you, and only you -- not to the algorithm, not to platforms that dangle the promise of viral fame, easy camaraderie, and instant hits of dopamine validation -- to lure you into the feeling that your efforts are worthy, your vulnerability acknowledged, that you're not alone in the world. yes, but. you are.
you're alone, and you'll die alone. and maybe, no one (except your family and friends, or not even them) will ever see your work. or listen to your ideas. maybe, no one will ever hear your voice. perhaps you'll languish in the near-certainty of obscurity, forever. your life will be only a blink of star's eye, a dancing moth in the flame of the universe: here now, soon gone.
therefore: ignore the impulse to waste even seconds of your life waiting in line for a reward, a gold sticker, a badge of approval, a permission slip that says: YES, YOU CAN MAKE ART NOW, and the world will see you, have you, and reward you.
but "what if," your heart asks, -- "they don't?"
if you embrace the void, your heart will stop asking this question.
it will, instead, begin asking the questions that matter in blood.
living in the void means two things:
your creative life force disentangles itself from results, noise, hesitation, self-doubt, or compromise. you learn to continually override the voices of fear. there is no where to go from here. you become: un-self-conscious. you'll create your worst work, most mediocre work, and the best work of your life, this way.
your motivation for creation will be so distilled to its core - that nothing and no one can touch it. you'll become: unstoppable. power is having everything to give. if you embrace death and obscurity that comes with the void -- what else remains, to fear?
in the void, only what is most essential will remain: your reason for creating, for living, for breathing.
if you embrace the void, the void will embrace you back.
if you make art in the void, you'll make the void your home.
š I write a weekly newsletter on creative alchemy & world-building called guide.notes. I also have a podcast: botanical studies of internet magic.
see related:
the internet as a creative practice
6 visions for your digital world
how to build a world: a cyclical guide