Consistency

Alright, so I've been told by someone recently that I'm a very philosophical person. Actually, I believe it was the first word that came to this person's mind after our first meeting. No I've disagreed with that, mainly because I would have never, ever described myself as philosophical. However, the more I think about it, the more I wonder if this person is right.

On the flip side, the same person asks if another character trait of mine - kindness - is a consistent trait. Then I began to wonder, am I always nice, sweet, kind, gentle with those I relate? Am I stuck in a rut of consistent, and God-forbid, boring behavior? I'm not worried that this person thinks I'm boring, or that any of my friends think I'm boring. But, as a professional, as a writer, as a creator I fear that I could easily find myself getting into a rut which could hamper my professional development.

I was reading some of Walt Whitman's works today and I came across this quote:

Do I contradict myself?
Very well then I contradict myself,
I am large, I contain multitudes.

With that in mind, I'm absolutely positive Whitman would agree with Ralph Waldo Emerson, a contemporary and an admirer, who called "a foolish consistency the hobgoblin of little minds...", as well as with Oscar Wilde: "Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative."

Here is the problem, I find myself at times basically striving to try an remain consistent, to remain stable (read "boring"), at being trustworthy ("dull") , reliable ("predictable"), and at being loyal ("uncreative"). Now while stable, trustworthy, reliable, and loyal are wonderful characteristics for any person of course, but only when they are not masquerading simply as a cover for consistency.

The creative-type, aren't we suppose to be by definition "the definition" of inconsistency?

I sit here at my dining room table, as I do almost everyday, attempting to write something new, something profound, something to pay the bills. But, it has become a routine, it has become stable and reliable. I can trust that I will be here, I've become loyal to my table, my laptop, my tea pot. I think it is time to shake up my routine.

I am not going to change my character, because I am Donegal John. Being nice, sweet, kind, gentle to my friends and those who I hold dear is part of who I am. It is in my character. However, I think it is time to take the creativity away from my writing and bring it into the rest of my life more.

So, today I am giving myself (and all of you readers; all 2, maybe 3 readers) permission to express some kind of wild inconsistency. Today the challenge for our lives is to be creatively inconsistent, and enjoy it. I think afterwards we will all agree with Whitman, we are large and contain multitudes.