Anyone can create
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I believe that the deepest pain you feel should be understood as a cry for humanity and universal love.
Charles Bradley, one of the greatest soul singers of all time, embodied this idea.
At 14, Charles felt unloved by his mother and ran away from home. He lived in the subway tunnels of New York and in the winter, he would ride the trains to stay warm. At 16, he found work as a cook and began singing in small clubs.
Despite his powerful and energetic stage presence that clearly pulled from James Brown, he couldn't make it mainstream until he was 62. That's when he released his first album and found both critical and commercial success. He reconnected with his mother and took care of her until she passed.
And all the way up until Charles passed away in 2017, he believed that if he put enough effort into his music, he could love people into loving.
It's innately human to want to create. For me, creating is where I find purpose. I think you are the same.
Whether it's building a chair from wood, playing an instrument, starting a business or finding the right thing to say to an acquaintance. We all have a desire to contribute to experiences that form deep, meaningful connections with others.
"It's not the honors and the prizes and the fancy outsides of life which ultimately nourish our souls. It's the knowing that we can be trusted. That we never have to fear the truth. That the bedrock of our lives, from which we make our choices, is very good stuff."
-Fred Rogers, 2002 Dartmouth College Commencement Address.
Go to any college of design and most students will tell you that they are there because they want to help people in some form. I don't think I've met a designer that isn't a little bit of a fixer.
Design can be, and commonly is, about getting people to do what companies want them to do.
But when opportunity arises, design can also be used with your creativity to make the world a little better. To make those meaningful connections with others. To build bridges of understanding. To spread love through your thoughtfulness.
So long as you have any capacity to express yourself, no matter how insignificant it may seem, you can create.