Recently I read a great post on Barbarian Rhetoric titled “How To Become Savagely Creative” and it got me thinking about the nature of creativity and the de-evolution of work. Something that I’ve talked about on this site before and want to touch on a bit here. The first thing I want to talk about is one of the reasons that every man with a heart (and balls) hates his corporate job if he isn’t at the top.
That’s because as I’ve stated before corporate America (or anywhere for that matter) is no place for masculine men. It’s an organization made for those without souls or hearts, made for insects not for human beings. Most work done in such places degrades the soul just as much as it degrades the body.
No one’s heart beats faster at the mention of doing accounts receivable, “human” resources, or director of first impressions. These are jobs for robots, insects, or humans who have lost their humanity or simply have to trade bits of it to eat and have a place to sleep. This is not how work was meant to be or created to be. Only in the mixed up upside down world of today do such things pass for work.
True Work
When you look at jobs of old, though they were physically and mentally demanding, there was a life to them that you won’t find in many modern jobs. Jobs like being a farmer, a carpenter, a blacksmith, moonshiner, hell there’s even a bit of art and craft to being a salesman compared to many modern corporate jobs. These jobs work with both the mind and often the body of a man to create something greater.
There is personality that is allowed to be injected into each. There is both an art and a craft to each. Or at least with jobs where this is not true there is physical labor that while often exhausting keeps the spirit intact though the body may suffer (or not) under it. These things helped to keep man centered and sane. We see so much of this in the modern world where people have to go back to old things to keep from falling off the edge.
Whether that’s going for a walk in nature, eating natural foods, being around others socializing, and various other things. Humans have forgot how to be human and are suffering because of it. But that’s a topic for another time. Now even if you can never make a living off of developing a craft or skill I still recommend that you do so for the health of your mind and soul (and often body).
What’s Your Craft?
This could be anything that engages both skill and creativity. It could be painting, sketching, writing fiction, boxing, woodworking, being a mechanic, or something similar. Just something that allows you creativity as well as skill. Working on these two aspects and combining them allows for a very unique human expression where your work can become art in a way. Again this isn’t something that you necceasrily have to make your living off of (but if you could then more power to you).
But it could be something that you make some extra cash off of and also get the mental and spiritual (and sometimes physical) well being the comes along with such things. Every man should have a craft he has developed. Beyond just being a corporate cog which may pay the bills and put money on your table and that of your family (which makes it worth it) but at the same time to help de-stress and keep your humanity intact it is good to go beyond that and develop a craft.
For me personally combat sports and writing fiction and two outlets that work wonders. Also in writing copy where I make the bulk of my money from I am given the freedom of time (one of the greatest freedoms that there is) as well as am able to express creativity in a way that I never could in the various other jobs that I worked.
