What we do informally we free."
-- Paul Reps
The word "amateur" comes from the same French root as amore -- to love. Amateurs do what they do because they love it. They're not in it for the money, the ego gratification, or the power, but simply because they love doing the activity itself.
And in their love, they are free. Free from coercion, free from structure, free from policies, and SOP's, free from the chase for the almighty dollar. In essence, they're free from form. They get to create, out of their love, their own form. And they can alter it whenever they wish. There's no formality in the heart of the amateur.
Compare this with IRS regulations or the policies of the Catholic Church -- byzantine structures that definitely freeze the heart rather than free it! Formal clothes, as beautiful as they may look, are uncomfortable and constricting. Give me the aloha shirts, the sloppy sweaters, the crocs and jeans any day. Look at artists -- no formal dress there, especially when they're in the midst of creating.
So, if you value your freedom, if you love an activity, or even a person, keep your interactions as informal as possible. Which may actually, at times, be harder than slipping into formalized, calcified patterns, like 9-5 jobs and marriage.
The security implied by formality is a lie. It's not security you feel, it's the slow death of creativity, the demise of freedom. Go out into the world today and live in a wild, amateurish informal manner. Free don't freeze. Your soul will thank you.
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