I am a myth buster by nature. As much as myth has its place in life, and Joseph Campbell is right about that, as much as myth can be a revelatory means to explain things, expose truths we all "share" and more by way of metaphor and analogy, myth can also obfuscate the reality of life and truth, and only tells tall tales of fantastic creatures and human figures who are bigger than life. We call them heroes.

But, I find that life itself can be mythical in its scope, its nature and the living. There are monsters aplenty to be slain, if only metaphoric or psychological in nature. There are real heroes in this life we live every day. You know at least one true hero -- we all know at least one true hero who has touched our lives.

And what is philosophy if it isn't a reflection upon truth. I'm not talking about my truth or your truth or somebody else's truth -- that's all subjective experience and opinion anyway, isn't it? However, that said, it is experience that helps shape our philosophy. And experience is part of the creative process all artists need if they are to ever create something of worth, something with real meaning, something that reveals a piece of the Truth of life we all seek.

And that is what this is all about, finding the truth in all things, all areas of this life which we inhabit.

The creative process requires us to see beyond the lies and the stories, the distractions, that we know are going to draw us away from our goals into areas we are not happy with; and we can also be drawn into a place of torment. While we may experience times when we are tormented, depressed, sad and frustrated, even suicidal, we have to understand that we still control the power of choice.

Nothing gets me more angry than to hear someone say, "It wasn't my fault", when it was clearly their doing. I find it insulting to human intelligence when I hear people talk about how they had no control, it wasn't their choice, they were forced, any of a number of lame excuses -- and all lies -- to justify why their lives have not become all they had wanted. It is rare that any of these are true.

Look, it may sound harsh for you to hear me say this, but your life -- my life -- is exactly what it is because we chose this life we now inhabit. We always have a choice.

Let me explain...

In our childhood we really don't have much choice about life. Childhood is a time of learning about right and wrong, dos and don'ts, all that stuff we need when we begin to interact with the world, things that are going to be expected of us to know. That's not what I'm talking about. It is when we grow up and begin to assert our own wants and desires about life and our dreams and hopes. And when we move away from home, away from being dependent upon father and mother, this is the time we truly begin the journey that is decided by every choice we make -- or don't make.

Every decision we make closes a door behind us but opens up new possibilities in front of us. We can go back if we want, but that doesn't mean reopening a door through which we previously passed will return us to that place, that state, which existed before we came through to this side of the door. Oftentimes it results in dissatisfaction and disillusionment. But, it was a choice we made. The resultant consequences are a product of that choice. We can't put it upon anyone else. So in a very real way, it is quite true when it was said, "You can never go home again."

So we go through experiences that present more choices. We make decisions, choose a course of action, a direction, a career, whatever, and begin down that path.

Each path presents us with new challenges and choices. And we respond -- freely and without coersion -- by going left or going right; we open one door and ignore another. But everything we end up with, whether a wonderful result or terrible consequence, has happened because of our choices. Nobody else is responsible.

Once you understand that what you have or don't have is because of decisions you and you alone made about your life, once you are reconciled to this truth and accept the reality of the process you employed to get here -- choice -- you can begin to affect changes in a purposeful and meaningful way, changes that will begin to redirect your steps toward the true desire, the original dreamed goal. But it has to be realistically obtainable -- a prerequisite -- you can't wish to be an astronaut at 40 years of age with no science degrees or other qualifications. It's too late for that goal. So if you find yourself in that place, you're going to have to choose something you can actually do. Sorry, but that's the nature of aging and time. We don't always have either working on our side. And, again, this truth is one you cannot deny.

Okay, so what does this have to do with the creative process? Everything. All experience is valid, even the Lie you lived (if you indeed lived a lie), that is, once you come out of it.

If I may back up for a moment...

It is in childhood that imagination is most vivid. It is a time of infinite possibilities where nothing is impossible. If we can think it, it can be done. This, by the way, will be touched on in other sections and in more detail later. Children live and play in a world so vivid, so "real", that they literally inhabit their created personas, from spacemen to superheroes to great warriors.

And even more importantly, children live in the moment. There is no concern for tomorrow, no regrets about yesterday. There is only now and Now is all that matters. It is a living dream world.

The creative process has its roots right there, in the imagination of our childhood. Because we lack experience in life, we don't know what life is. We create a life moment to moment until it is interrupted by our parents wanting us to do something. But, once that interruption is over, we're right back in it.

This life is full of fantastic ideas, amazing places and everything imaginable, literally. So the question is: why should that change just because we grow up?

The answer is simple: It doesn't have to change at all.

The challenge for anyone who wants to be an artist, or even express themselves in an artistic way (because you don't have to be an artist to create things), is to capture the essence of childhood creativity. And that means believing completely in the idea that nothing you can conceive is beyond your reach. You may have to work at it to become good enough to realise the idea, which will take time, but you have to believe it is achievable by you. But, again, it has to be reasonably obtainable, given your age, your abilities and your education in the sense that you have the knowledge to make it happen. If you have the time and the motivation, you can still acquire the knowledge to be able to achieve your goal.

So, again, for the artist, if you can think it, it can be done -- eventually.

Subsequently, sometimes you have to take a road that seems so removed, so incongruous, so divorced from your creative aspirations, that you consider abandoning the whole idea of travelling that road. This would be -- could be -- a grave error. Our creativity requires we travel roads we would never have though necessary. If you want to reach the Emerald City, you have to travel the yellow brick road. How many different environments did that road traverse? It is better to embrace the experience, being sure it is not a distraction that really will lead you away from where you should be.

And that brings up the idea of discernment.

To discern a thing is to understand its purpose, its reason for being. When it comes to your life, discernment is a very necessary ability to develop. With the ability to discern a situation you can ascertain the certainty or foolishness of that situation quickly. You will be able to clearly apprehend the truth about a person, a thing, a situation, an offer, and what it means to you, what it will mean for you, how you may benefit or suffer should you pursue this, accept this, reject this, deny this, embrace this circumstance and the people or things in presents.

Whew! You never imagined how much goes on in your experience until you begin to break down the processes involved. These processes go on in your unconscious, your conscious, your heart, your soul, your body and your spirit. You may or may not be aware of the complexity of the process. It really doesn't matter. What does matter is that you at least understand you have to make choices and those choices you make will indeed affect the rest of your life to a lesser or greater degree. You will have to live with many of your choices. Some may be reversable. Others can never be reversed. It is the way it is and you have to accept that the rules are the rules and you cannot violate them and not suffer consequences altogether unpleasant in nature.

So the creative process involves taking your experience, your life, and breaking it down into managable pieces you can manipulate and combine together to create a representative example of this thing, this state of mind, this place, this person, this whatever it may be that you want people to know, understand or see that happened in your life or could be in theirs. You choose the means and the expression that results in the final representational form.

A scuptor sculpts, a painter paints, a writer writes, a musician muses... well, composes.

And it all begins with an idea, an epiphany, a "hallelujah" moment.

If we're lucky, we will experience many of these such moments which will result in a wealth of material we call our "body of work". And if we're really lucky, many thousands of people will want to share this, buy it, hear it, see it, touch it, want it, give it away and just plain want others to know it exists.

But the creative process doesn't really care about all that, not really. Money, fame, fortune, notoriety, all that celebrity, none of this matters in the long run. A real creative person, a true artist, cares little for all that junk. While they may enjoy it from time to time, it ultimately distracts from the joy of the creative process, the artistic expression, the sculpture, the painting, the novel and the musical composition.

We live to create the next piece that demands to be born. For the creative process is a birthing process, to be sure. We sweat, we cry, we laugh, we scream. We pout, we lash out, we withdraw and ultimately we succumb. The piece must be born, we have no choice but to be the avenue through which it will come to life. And until it is born, we are (hopefully) engaged to the distraction of all else.

And in the end, we fall back, exhausted for the effort. But like a proud parent, we wouldn't trade all the anguish, torment and joy in the creatiive process for anything in the world. Why? Because that is our world, the world in which we live, breath and shall eventually die. Our legacy will be the work we leave in our wake as we travel through this life.

Obscurity or great notoriety, it doesn't matter one whit. We gave ourselves to our lovely creations and the creative process that gave rise to our work. It is our gift to the world. We can only hope and pray it was and will continue to be something to be enjoyed long after we depart this mortal coil.