I’ve spent the last few weeks thinking about the concept of identity and how I’ve been navigating this journey as a creative individual making my way in a landscape that is often inimical to the pursuit of creativity.
This week I’ve found myself thinking about an idea I came across a few weeks ago, courtesy of the fantastically creative Tim Minchin. In a speech delivered at the University of Western Australia in 2013, Minchin gave some sage advice in the form of nine life lessons, all of which I found quite profound and humorous in equal measure, but what I’ve found myself thinking of in the last few days, and pertinent to this post, is number seven on the list:
“Define yourself by what you love” – Tim Minchin
You may be thinking, duh, this isn’t new, or profound, but I’d argue that this simple statement is one we could all do well to take to heart and put in practice, now more than ever. I say this because I don't know exactly when it became fashionable, but I've noticed a trend where individuals in society are increasingly more likely to define themselves by what they dislike or disapprove of, rather than what they like and support. I'm ashamed to admit I've been just as guilty of this as anyone else. You'll see it online in social media posts, memes, videos and essays, expressed in all facets of life. In a desperation to define ourselves by what we don't want, we say things like…
- Ugh I could never vote for <Insert political party>
- No I don’t listen to <insert music genre>
- I can’t stand <insert currently popular superfood>
- I can't be friends with people who eat <insert currently popular superfood>
Obviously everyone has the right to their opinions and preferences, but I just wonder whether we as a society will be better served if individuals chose to express and define themselves by what we stand for instead. Through this lens, the previous statements might look something like this…
- I'd vote for <Insert political party> because…
- Oh you don't like <insert music genre>? Cool. I like <insert music genre> because…
- Ah you think <currently popular superfood> is overhyped? Okay. I quite enjoy <same or other popular superfood> because…
Case in point, I happen to like quaint little cafes with sweet treats and complicated coffee. There are many reasons to not patronise this sort of establishment, and I’ve heard them all. They drive gentrification. They’re the reason millennials can’t get on the property ladder. They’re full of dungaree-clad hipsters. Maybe this is true, maybe it isn’t. What matters is I like these spaces and I tend to have a good time when I visit.
I'm not the only one who's identified this curious phenomenon. Austin Kleon articulates this point well, and it isn't lost on me that I’m doing the same thing with this essay in the sense that I’ve identified this online trend to find something you dislike, state your pet peeves online and hope other people join you in beating on the thing.
As an aside, one of the things I struggle with most when it comes to social media is I can’t get out of my head how it feels like standing in a large room, say an empty warehouse, shouting an idea into a megaphone, and hoping other people in the room join in to validate my views. In the early days of social media, the ideas, views and sentiments we bellowed into the megaphone were largely positive. We had some of this positivity during the pandemic too (though there was lots of negativity as well). We shared photos of our homemade sourdough loaves, we posted videos of the new songs we'd written, we talked about our creative exploits, and for a time, it was all met with fertile soil on which the seeds of hope and optimism could germinate, or at least that's what it felt like.
But that didn't last long, as you undoubtedly know. Social media today is not as positive, and when people attempt to infuse some positivity into it, there’s someone willing to pipe up and muffle the voice of hope. For instance, someone posts a cute video of a senior dog who wags her tail when she hears her owner’s voice, and the comment section is littered with people fat-shaming the dog. The video ends up going viral not because of the wholesome content but because of the hate-fuelled engagement in the comments section. This isn't a bug, but a feature of social media. Perhaps it shouldn't come as a surprise that spreading hate and rooting one's identity in opposition to what others love is becoming the norm. We're merely responding to incentives created and driven by algorithms that are becoming increasingly ubiquitous.
In a landscape characterised by opposition, rife with negativity and overrun by antagonist practices, I choose to define myself by what I stand for. This, as it happens, is partly why I called my new album Hope on the Horizon. There’s no shortage of turmoil, bad news, and catastrophising out there, but there’s also no shortage of hope, optimism, and positivity in the world. And lest there be any confusion, this is where I stand, on the side of hope.
I’ve previously written about how I make art and write songs that some would consider cheesy and optimistic, and how I intend to continue to unapologetically ply this road, because I believe we need these songs now more than ever. Well, this is me making a conscious effort to continue to write and perform this sort of material, because if I don’t, who will?
My new album, Hope on the Horizon, is out on all streaming platforms on April 17th. Not a fan of streaming and want to support my music? You can download a digital version or buy a CD now here.
P.S.: My debut non-fiction book, Art Is The Way, and my middle-grade novella, A Hollade Christmas, are out everywhere now. You can get them in all good bookstores and from all major online vendors.