Informal Freedom

"What we do formally we freeze.

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.

Transcending Experts

"Always listen to experts. They'll tell you what can't be done and why. Then do it."

-- Robert Heinlein

Experts know the past. They know what was probable when they became experts. They're betting with the house, but as every gamble knows, the house doesn't always win.

Experts are a great form of motivation. Nothing feels much better than proving the experts wrong. Their forte is trouble shooting. They can show you all the possible pitfalls, sinkholes, and swamps that lay ahead, even before you even take the first step on your journey. And then you can choose altenrative route.

Every new discovery, every creation, every innovation proves the experts wrong and places a fissure in the monolith of tradition that passes for wisdom. If you're the creative type, it's your job to crack their world wide open, and send the experts scurrying into retirement. Just be careful: Don't become the new, petrified, calcified expert yourself!