On Thought: A Theory of Creativity and Love

It's as though regular thought were done in a circle. Day to day, on a normal basis all the thoughts we need can be found within that circle. Thoughts about paying our bills, organizing the closet, getting the next high, getting from A to B, fulfilling a selfish desire, figuring out how to keep the status quo--these are all the type of thoughts I call "circle thought." They are circle thoughts because they are circular--they go nowhere and they take the person right back to where they started. No ground is gained. No problem is solved. No love is found.

But one can break that circle, or find exits and entryways to various rooms outside that circle. These people exist in "exit thought." Some people only find one or two rooms, and they visit them all the time; thus, these "exit thoughts" become normal--they become a part of their circle thought--its just that the circle has expanded a bit. This is because, when these people are in those rooms, they do not examine them. They do not look in all the corners and underneath objects--and they do not talk to all of the people in there. Instead, they only see one or two people, and they can be found standing in the room too stunned to do much else . . . like a deer caught in headlights. And as long as they are like this, they do not see anything. Thus, when they come back into the realm of "circle thought" they are little affected.

But some, find not only exit doors by which to leave the circle, but they also find windows and cracks. First of all, when they find the exit doors and walk through them, they have the boldness to search that room (for doors lead only to other rooms), to talk to all the people and to observe them. They look under things, in things and around things. When they come back to the circle, if they have that rare commodity called dedication and if they have the audacity to believe what they have seen in those others rooms (even though these rooms are not like the room that makes up their circle thought), then they will attempt to record or recreate what they find--it is these people--those who have the boldness to go in the first place, the stamina to record and recreate, and the audacity to believe who are artists and creators.

Those who find windows have always found doors first and, through the courage they gained going through the doors, they find the courage to crawl through the windows. Thus, they enter "window thought." What they find outside these "windows" is amazing, for windows lead beyond the rooms--windows lead out far beyond "circle thought." If this person is a writer, she will find the story behind the story, before the story, within the story. The dangerous thing about "window thought" is that sometimes, for various reasons, it can be difficult to get back through the window. Those who go too far, rarely find their way back. Those who stay within sight of their window, or who mark their way, find their way back through and when they come back through to "circle thought," they write masterpieces, classics, they are able to solve problems, invent things, they paint and sculpt timelessly and they compete with an endurance fueled by a deeper inspiration.

And there are those who find access to other rooms or to the outside through the cracks, the slivers and openings in the walls and doors. They may have at one time left their circle and ventured out, or they may venture out in the future. But for now, they remain on the inside, seeing (and sometimes remembering or hoping for) what is on the outside, but not in its entirety. They have an idea of what's on the other side, but they prefer to tell it as they see it through these openings. It may appear that fear of what's on the other side is what holds these people back, however, they remain where they are for the love of their circle thought friends, even though they are enamored by the mystery they see through the cracks, the slivered openings in the walls. The other side never loses its beauty to them, yet they never lose touch with those who are stuck in circle thought. These people lend hope to those in circle thought, they are able to help translate what was found in window thought and door thought and bring it to circle thought level. These people are beautiful, because they are light shiners, they are lovers, they are nurturers, they are peace keepers, they are helpers, they are teachers. They may not get the glory of their window and door co-thinkers, but they have a far greater calling to hold the hands of circle thinkers and exit thinkers; they have a far greater calling to comfort the anxieties exit thinkers experience and embrace the circle thinkers in their sorrow. These people live in "open thought." They are open thinkers.

Each one is a circle thinker at some time in their life, and perhaps will always be a circle thinker in certain parts of their lives, even while they are exit thinkers in another area. Circle thinkers often at one time in their life dreamed of being exit thinkers. And so we share this as our commonality--we all need the open thinkers who think with open arms.