Questions, rambling

[wispfox]

How do you add beauty to the world? Is it something as simple as pointing it out when it is there, sharing what exists, or do you create your own beauty, in whatever form you are able?

What is it to create? I think creation can be solid objects, with or without purpose beyond simple existence, creation can be ideas, stories, maybe even experiences. Could creation be reminding people of the things which already are true, showing them things which they already know, as well as bringing in that which is new or at least locally unknown?

Why is it so hard to ask for help when you need it? Even, or perhaps especially, if it's someone for whom you would offer as much help as you have available to offer? Why are people are supposed to be independent and not _need_ help when asking people for help that you truly need and that they can offer makes them feel appreciated and loved and helpful _and_ makes whatever you were struggling with much less of a struggle?

When you create things, or purchase things, do you remember beauty and design as well as function? Small bits of beauty in one's life can make a big difference, just as can many small bits of annoyance, distraction, or obstruction.

Comments

[elissaann.livejournal.com]

I don't create beauty, I interpret it. Or maybe I point it out.

I don't think I create. I combine.

It's hard for me to ask for help because I don't want to bother people when they're doing important things. That's the emotional reason. There is no logical reason.

When I purchase things, I remember beauty, because I like to have pretty things around me.

I like spamming you, that's why.

[the-xtina.livejournal.com]

Usually, I stay out of it.  When I don't, I share links with people, I try to be socially smooth (assisting others in creating an agreeable public space), and sometimes I knit scarves and penguins.

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"Create" to me means to transmute from one thing to another.  I "created" a blanket - I changed it from yarn to a blanket using sticks and energy.  When I point out what is already there, I am using communication (which encompasses both "meaningful language" and "my connection with another person") to transform something from a boring thing to an interesting thing (http://snapshot.parade.com/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=406593&g2_serialNumber=3), for another person.

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It's hard for me to ask for help because it's inviting another person within my walls.  It's saying "I can't do this alone", which (a) opens me up to judgment ("Why not? Are you mentally deficient?") and (b) is a loss of control (I am no longer the sole person touching $thing).  Loss of control also merges with hope - I hope that they can help, and if they reject me or they can't, then that is another suck on top of whatever else I was dealing with.

So I am already going through $thing, then I push myself to remember to ask for help on $thing, and I have to prepare for the answer to be "no", and then on the times when it is "no", I have to deal with that loss of hope.  Why the hell should I do that?

(Now I'm all unreasonably annoyed.)

I've been getting better at asking for help ever, but I still don't trust it at all.

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When I create things, they must be aesthetically pleasing, else why am I bothering?  (See also proper tabulation in code.)  When I purchase things, oftentimes the function is so much of the form, for me.  I don't know what that means for others; for me, something being useful to me is often a beautifier in/of itself.

[starphire.livejournal.com]

Raising children, and getting to see beauty I'd otherwise miss through their eyes, teaching them to love and respect the earth and others.

Making pretty blinky light things for many people to see and enjoy.

Seeing beauty through the lens of a camera and capturing it for others to enjoy.

Making gifts of my time and resources for the benefit of others, including massage and energy work.

I think all of these are creating in one sense or another.

Some just exist and are discovered, some come about through vision and planning, some come through a series of seemingly random choices, evolving organically (esp. the kids).

[regyt.livejournal.com]

I feel like I create and see so much beauty every day. In everything.

[dancingwolfgrrl.livejournal.com]

I think there are two ways other people often create beauty that I notice: pointing things out that I might otherwise have skipped over and living basically awesome lives that I admire.

If experiences are a form of creation, then reminding people of what they already know definitely is, because hearing the same thing 20 times can create 20 experiences. I can personally attest to this :)

I think asking for help when you need it is hard partly because it's very hard to hear "no," even if we logically accept that in real life, sometimes people will need to say that. In this way, I think it's good to have more than one option, so that "no" from someone doesn't mean "you don't get that help." Also, I think many of us tend to sort of unconsciously "save up" requests for when we "really need them," thinking that this will make it more likely for them to be fulfilled -- but that's a contract that only works when everyone agrees to it!

Whether I care about form as well as function depends on the thing, and not along any axis I can identify clearly enough to articulate!

[madbodger.livejournal.com]

I like to notice beauty, share beauty, and make my own beauty. Sometimes art projects, sometimes clothes, sometimes photography, and when I build technical widgets, I like them to have a visual and tactile appeal as well (I really appreciate the good-looking machinery produced in the 19th century).

And asking for help is hard, as many think it's an admission of failure, or a failure to be independent. Tough to chew.

[metahacker.livejournal.com]

It's very hard to create new things; some say impossible. Almost everything is a combination of old things. Or, looked at another way, every combination of things is a new thing.

I think this might extend to combinations of (audience + art) -- it's a new impression, a new artwork.

I both create (gather?) art, and connect people with art. (I am using art here, because not all art is beautiful, but I think it still causes the sort of emotional reaction that you are talking about for beauty.)