How the Act of Creating Will Make Us Transcend Socially, Politically, and Spiritually

I was blessed with a brother, who is seven years older, the age difference was never an annoyance, only until he left for college is when it felt like I was an only child. When he left it felt like my childhood ended and I stepped into adolescence and gained some sort of consciousness. While my older brother was in high school, I grew up fast hanging around him and his friends. This is where I learned all the naughty words. I was the bat boy for his baseball team and ball/water boy for the football team. All summer long I would be with Jack and his friends- who all looked liked seven feet tall gods to me. I was sweating and running around with them on the practice field in 100-degree weather, I felt what they did and heard their disgruntlements about the heat. The fat and sweaty lineman loved when I unscrewed the lid and dipped the water bottles in the water cooler to get the ice in them. The coaches did not like that, and I got my first football coach speech, that included the words “damn” and “nasty fingers”. I watched these giants communicate with raw emotion – rarely looking down with awkward pause but rather eye to eye. I vividly remember someone quitting midway through a practice and walking off for the last time and never to come back. The exchange between that player, and the coach was very emotional. Confrontational or casually, the communication was more direct and playful back then it seemed. Even the way we spoke about famous athletes was different then. Everyone had more lore and mystery to their name because they were less unreachable and we didn’t have instant social media. For example: Brett Farve and Jerry Rice. The stories on how Brett was a tough Mississippi boy who got his strength from chopping wood for hours in the woods and Jerry could catch so well because he was a brick layer with his father. His father would throw the bricks up to Jerry and strengthen his hands and hand-eye coordination. Seventeen years ago, the world was not so digitized and much more analog. Looking back, it seemed to be a transitory period for the way young and active people communicated. To the few who were plugged into technological advances back then, they showed most of their excitement because most of the hardware and software coming out would be used more as tools. It was an exciting time to be alive. For example, rather than making fun of another kid in a group chat, you would be more inclined to say it with a group face to face. Every Friday around 3 P.M. before the high school football games players and coaches would sit together in silence and be served a meal and drinks. The players moms would serve us, and of course this reality broke the silence many times, I’m sure the moms enjoyed it. As a young kid I enjoyed the sweet tea, mac and cheese, and quiet stories about all the things high schoolers would get into and this was where I learned about what was really important, like breastfeeding. I remember sitting at the table getting my drink refilled by a beautiful mom when a player exclaimed after she had left “John you’re a lucky son of a bitch, getting to suck on those tits as a baby, I wish I could”. I thought, my poor mother, do babies really do that?

Back then we had to focus on one, two, or three things at a time. Now most people voluntarily focus on one, two or three peoples one, two, or three things. This isn’t including geopolitical news either. We are not built for this, and I think AI and chat LLM’s are a must now for our productivity solely based on the fact that we killed our critical thinking with aimlessly scrolling on our phones for the answers to the questions we all have about this life and filled the remaining processing power of our brain with useless facts. These thoughts I’m talking about are common now and most are aware and as we enter this new technological age, I believe it is imperative that I give great effort to always talk about how the way things used to be and the way I saw it. It is evident that the human touch and traditional language and communication is getting phased out and developing into something entirely new. We can barely look back on history as a guide for these technological advances, and it has caught many off guard. If I had children ten years ago, I would probably say their life would look similar to mine, I can only hope there will be hints of the feelings I felt in my great childhood and I will try my hardest to provide that to them, however most memories were with other children and when I see groups of kids now I see children cosplaying adults. The way kids communicate today and the lack thereof between them is astonishing. Kids today stare at their phones – this is not a new observation it has been that way for a bit now and I have fallen victim to this as well. I have seen with my own eyes what they consume, for an example: they are consuming AI generated videos that resemble cartoons a newborn might watch, a gorilla playing with a ball with the same color scheme as a watermelon, a parrot turning into a pineapple, Lisa and Bart Simpson having penicils stabbed into their eyes and a fat persons belly having a deflator knob turned and deflating. Really alien stuff.

I had a moment in my sophomore year of high school, around 2013, when I realized the digital world we partake in every hour of every day, is a bigger deal than most realized at that time. I was lucky to have great friend whose family owns a tech company and what he showed me was mind blowing at the time. He showed me video technology that could recognize objects in the video frames and with no input from the user. For an example, if an actor in the video was holding a skateboard, you could click on the board and have its information in a moment’s notice and have it ready to order to be delivered to your front door. When I was a child, I also read a book called “The Homework Machine” by Don Gutnam, and it is about four kids who use a computer program that does their homework for them and it was always on my mind back then when I couldn’t figure out math homework, because Google search wasn’t the best help back then. Well, here we are today with hundreds of homework machines that can solve real problems. I have searched “will AI replace…” my line of work and many others to see what opinions are out there. I wouldn’t mind getting replaced most days. I feel like I have very little skills that are not associated with my professional life. Despite the thousands of dollars associated with my education, I cannot speak another language, play an instrument, and only recently have I started to pursue artistic compulsions.

Even the way our phones look today says a lot about the era we’re living in. We used to have all kinds of shapes, colors, and designs, but over time everything collapsed into one universal template, the plain black rectangle. It’s a small reflection of a much larger shift. Decades ago, when people imagined the future, they pictured dramatic changes in the physical world. But somewhere in the early 2000s, our imagination turned inward. Instead of reinventing the world around us, we poured all our energy into screens, apps, and endless digital stimulation. Now the excitement is about consuming more, seeing more, scrolling faster, while the tangible world slowly decays in the background. You can even see it in people themselves. There’s this growing “slobification,” a kind of letting go, because all our attention is being funneled into the digital realm rather than our bodies or our surroundings. This quiet shift might be one of the defining narratives of our time, the gradual retreat from the physical into the virtual. For a long time curating my online profiles and photos on my phone was all I had to do as a creative outlet. I knew I needed to add more value to my life by creating and to try my hardest to not conform to the norms of todays consumerism culture in America.

It has been almost two years when I decided that way of going about life was not an option for me anymore and I had a feeling, my gut was telling me to buy the equipment to start working with my hands and mind as one. No matter how silly or small the ideas or projects were I knew I had to get started. Not for my own desires but one day I could show my children to let their imagination take them places they didn’t know were possible. I realized that the past was a great resource for wisdom and brought me a wealth of knowledge, but nothing more. This decision was not for myself, but for the energy I carry so that I can eventually help others along the path of life and will build confidence to let my light shine. One lit candle can light another, and I remind myself that dimming my own flame to make others comfortable is an insult to God’s gift and I should never be ashamed of who I am. I use the tools and technology of our time, but I will not let them overshadow my own divine thoughts. I have learned that in the quiet moments that feel ordinary or even boring, my greatest thoughts appear. I try not to silence these thoughts with distractions because inside them I may find the answers to my problems and the spark for my ideas.

With so many distractions in today’s world I believe staying and living in the moment with one hundred percent focus is the meaning of life, while also serving and sacrificing for others. Sacrificing for others demands a lot of energy and time from you, so you will have to bow down to The Lord Jesus Christ for strength and ask for wisdom. I use to walk behind the factory I worked at and get on my knees and ask for forgiveness for my sins and stare at the morning sun, I had never felt better. I felt almost dead inside when I failed to see that life itself is the gift, and that living it to my full potential is how I celebrate that incredible gift bestowed upon me. To truly live like today may be my last, seems like a good life to me. I wish I studied the greats before I went to college and after I graduated, I would have talked and walked a little different. From what I have seen putting your passion and mission above all else and ignoring hedonistic temptations is what can separate the greats from the average person. Trying to create humbles me, no matter what I make or how terrible it is at first. Creation reminds me how much there is left to learn in this life. There is no end to it. At some point, I realized that peace does not come from trying to master the world but from humbling myself before the Lord and letting go. Without that humility, I burned out searching for meaning in a realm that offers none. Creating, whether it is a business, a piece of art, or a simple meal, shows me my smallness in the vast cosmos. I believe that is often why artists may feel misunderstood as a creative soul.

I have seen some political types calling visionaries weak, insane, and not based in reality. But those who reach deep inside to pull something out of nothing know just how fragile life is. Ruling over others is not in their nature; they would rather reach out and join hands. That is why I believe many struggling artists get swept into loud political movements. They feel the pain of the world so deeply that their reactions can seem extreme. Most young, aspiring people want to work hard and build something real. They just do not want to waste their lives doing work that feels like mental servitude, pulling their hair out and silently screaming for help. Many are bound by finances, relationships, or location, but the first and hardest step is simply starting. Putting yourself out there and showing your true colors is another hurdle in itself. We live in a world that loves to categorize us by what we do, who we vote for, and where we live. But creating is the only escape from that. Stacking a little money, sketching an escape plan, and working toward your dream is how you break free. Creating something beautiful or something true to you will almost always resonate with someone else. Because creating means movement, and moving forward is the only cure for being trapped in your past.

Here are some Bible Verses talking about using our gifts:

1 Peter 4:10 “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace”

Romans 12:6-8 “Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.”

Matthew 5:14-16 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven”

I am an industrialist; I live to build and try to bring my visions to reality. I am not ignorant to the fact that America must advance and create technologies to help the citizens of the world and I believe AI will help many of us become Polymaths because we will have to be. American life is brutal because you must be above average to be average. It seems like you must be successful just to get by. I think this is why I have a great appreciation for the arts, and how they are one of the most obvious and clear expressions of Man’s will on the earth. Talking with my foreigner friends in college this was a popular topic. In America you basically need to go Übermensch. Something needs to change or break as soon as possible to ease the pain of daily life for us Americans, or maybe gravity is just heavier compared to when our parents were getting their careers started. Maybe one day there will be more space for wonderful, inspirational music, buildings, and sculptures. We can unlock cheaper and cleaner energy. We can free up more time for people to engage in life affirming acts, rather than soul crushing ones, and leave that for the soul-less computers we have begun to master. But what does it take to reach that place, and who are the people willing to push us there? There are so many voices working against it. Too many of those who hate life will try to stop it, or those who only care about their own life while saying they “lead” others, and it is too valuable to let them have it that way. I don’t think sheer force of will is enough; I believe it will require sacrifice, and a kind of near mythic determination to shape a world that beautiful. But honestly, I can’t imagine a more meaningful way to use the time we’re given, or a more worthwhile life to build. To create something beautiful, you reveal a glimpse of God’s own creation, a reflection of the newness He continually brings forth. Seeing beauty gives us a sense of longing and awakens our desire for something more while it points us to the greater transcendent. However, one of the most common traps for people newly drawn to the esoteric or the philosophical occult is stepping completely out of the world of action. They become absorbed in the intangible, in the symbolic, and they slowly detach from the physical world. Christ worked as a carpenter and Plato trained as a wrestler. It is good to seek what is above, but you must also stay grounded in what is below, in your material abilities and personal capability. When you remove yourself from challenge, failure, and effort, you extinguish the very forces that strengthen you.

Hilma af Klint

It seems as if Heavenly pleasures of earth bring hell, and the troubles many suffer through comparable to hell eventually gives the feeling of heaven, ying and yang. The desire of love is to give. The desire of lust is to get. To go up spiritually you must go down and inward and humble yourself. Sometimes I would describe that waking up every hour during the midnight hour to my crying baby as “hell”. But when the sun rises in the morning and the baby awakes and smiles once more a blanket of warmth wraps around me and takes me to a place comparable to heaven on earth. I would wake up every hour, every night for the rest of my life to know that my baby will have another smile in the morning. Many mothers and fathers will put their babies down for the night and be relieved that they finally have some alone time. But after an hour or two they will start missing their babies, and sure enough the babies may wake up hungry or cold crying for their protectors right on que.

I am a bothered man, and most Sundays, you will find me emotional in the pew because I know there is more for me to conquer and the never ending cycle of stress and anxiety paralyzes me and makes me idle. I feel domesticated and muzzled when I explain my ideas to others. I believe my ideas could help my community but most ideas take too much startup capital for the common conservative business man, rightly so. These visions of building a better world has been difficult to explain to others, and getting others on board will have to wait as I am told that I am bound by youth, lack of experience, and finances. I was blessed to know my grandfathers and hear the stories of them starting multiple businesses of their own and take notes on how they were successful. However, when I hold my son the world quiets and I feel my convictions strengthen to build a better world for him. His cries make me smile as I know he still needs me and his laughs make me teary eyed as I know one day they may not be there. Many fathers would give their life to know their family will be better off because of what he built. This is why I feel that many fathers feel the unease when they have to work “for the man” and are bound by their circumstances and feel that there may be no way to control their own destiny. We like to be the master of our universe. Knowing that I must be profitable, find a way to help others, and truly love it has caused much mental hardship, but I am comforted to know that the Japanese have a word for this situation; Ikigai.

Fathers wake up and go to work for those who can’t. The helpless and handicapped give me inspiration to live each day like it is our last. These complaints and feelings I have expressed make me want to jump out of my skin and scream for help, but suffering is part of the human condition and we must seek a higher power and tap in to its beauty and wisdom every second of the day.

‘If God had not permitted suffering, man would not know his limits, nor his need for God.”

— St. Gregory the Theologian

Some stories I find inspirational, are about the beginnings of Shelby Foote’s novel The Civil war: A Narrative, and Christian Von Koneigseggs car company. It took Shelby Foote over twenty years to write his novels when he told his publisher it would take nine. He wrote everything by hand with a nib dip pen and aimed for five hundred words a day. The result became one of the most respected narrative histories of the American Civil War. Christian von Koenigsegg was a young inventor and relentless entrepreneur. He patented a “click together” wood flooring system that allowed planks to lock without nails or glue, an idea similar to the snap flooring used worldwide today, though he never made much money from it. He then started a small company importing goods such as plastic bags, pens, and even frozen chicken during the chaotic post Soviet years. These small businesses gave him just enough capital and confidence to take the leap in 1994 and found Koenigsegg Automotive at age 22. It took him years of struggle and near failure, it took more than six years before a true production ready car reached the public, but he now runs one of the most innovative hypercar companies in the world. The artist or visionary will eventually be put in an uncomfortable situation regarding money, in America the business landscape is full of savages, it is just the way it is. Everything is for sale in America and we pay ridiculous taxes voluntarily and involuntarily, knowing and unknowing. These ideas would only work in a country similar to America because of the freedom and maneuverability citizens have. We have just a sliver of opportunity to do so. We must realize this and be appreciative and take advantage of this unique situation.

The drive to build something real, to turn ideas into steel, motion, or architecture, and to shape the physical world as a reflection of your inner world seems a near impossible task today. Creating a company just to start one or telling more successful people than I, about what I want to make just to show that I could make them some money isn’t what I am after. Giving back more than what I take is more like it. I see the world not as it is, but as it could be. I want to build factories, systems, machines, products things that live beyond me. I want to see a team come alive around an idea. Creation isn’t just about revenue and profitability but rather a spiritual compulsion. Being stuck in theory, creates an inner dissonance because the soul is wired for movement. Stagnation is death. I try to devote myself to becoming more and transcend prior limitations. To honor God and creation itself by committing to evolve. Every day that passes without progress feels like a betrayal of the reason I was born. True creation bypasses ideology and it is the universal language of progress. Building something is inherently apolitical and revolutionary because it reshapes reality rather than arguing over it. Spiritually, creating mirrors divine order and to create is to participate in something higher. Creation unites people and it builds networks, communities, and shared identity. This is why I believe every human must strive to create something true to themselves, in a world that so often isn’t.