Yesterday Oct 2nd I officially released my first album. It really solidified a result of the main conflict in all of my creative projects, do I wait till it's "Perfect"? Or just GET IT OUT. Pragmatically, you want the latter. One has to swallow their pride and let the flaws stay. On of the people at the University of Arizona that I look up to said it perfectly: I walked into my MUS 302 class to the sound of classical music being played over the sound system. You could instantly tell by the sound that it was a live recording. We all settled into our seats when one of the instructors, Jeff Haskell. He takes a deep breath, as if taking in the sounds floating through the air into his lungs, turns to us and says; "Isn't it beautiful?" We all agreed as the music was very moving. He looked around and asked; "Do you know what you're hearing?" no one knew how to answer immediately, but knowing him he was about to say something clever at the very least. He said; "What you're hearing are mistakes."
I'm paraphrasing from memory, but that was an absolutely profound moment of true realization of something I already knew. One of those archetypal Truths that you know is somehow exactly right in a way that words could never describe. So I've taken that as a part of how I make and share my projects.
I'd be dammed if I didn't pour my very best into everything I make, but at the same time I keep in my mind that it'll never be an idealized "good enough" at the point of perfection. Not so much because I "can't" (though that's also absolutely true) but because I don't want that.
Perfect is ugly.
Real beauty is in striving towards an ever expanding and adjusting improvement, while never forgetting or leaving out your humanity.
It's what makes you, you. You cannot separate the bad experiences from the good, just like "back" does not exist without the contrasting "front".
You make real undeniable beauty in reflecting everything that is our humanity.
And that's why, you are beautiful.

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