Photo by Gaetan Lee
“What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.” – Ecclesiastes 1:9
I see a lot of people complaining that there’s nothing new out there.
True, since the big bang, all we’ve done is rearrange the same subatomic particles that have always existed. A new baby’s DNA is just a mix of its parents’. Any new words we make up just come from the same 26 letters. There are only so many different storylines in all the books and movies in the world. Anything you will ever do in your life has already been done by billions of people before you.
So what?
When you see a naked woman, do you complain that it’s nothing new? For the ladies, when you see diamonds and shoes, do you think, “Oh crap, more diamonds and shoes?”
Why isn’t it sufficient for things to be “new enough?” There’s a big middle ground between “never before seen since the dawn of time” and “rehashed tripe.” What’s wrong with a reminder of something we haven’t thought about in a long time, or seeing something presented in a different way, or just getting more of something we haven’t had enough of yet?
Have we really gotten bored with everything the universe has to offer already?
I’ll tell you this. If ever I look at something and say, “nothing new to see here”, all I have to do is step about 1 inch to the left or the right.
A new perspective on it – something new. Same thing with words on a page. A sunset.
Every living moment is a gift.
“So what”, indeed! I think that it’s arrogant to think that we’ve seen EVERYTHING the universe has to offer.
With music, Bach thought that he pretty much exhausted the art of the fugue. Dream on, Bach: I read a poem in German that was constructed like a fugue. Same idea, but different instrument with different notation. And I’ll have to say, it feels so much like music.
Change the media, point of view, or instrument and you can have a completely new idea.
RL Davids last blog post..Pissing Under the Eiffel Tower
The best song hasn’t been written, the best Constitution has not been created, the best form of government hasn’t been thought up, the best painting hasn’t been painted . . . there a limitless supply of ideas waiting to be found.
Marelisas last blog post..How to Create a Swipe File to Jump Start Your Creativity
“When you see a naked woman, do you complain that it’s nothing new? For the ladies, when you see diamonds and shoes, do you think, “Oh crap, more diamonds and shoes?””
Hey I resent that! Why are women only allowed to get excited about diamonds and shoes? The opposite sex is way more exciting than STUFF.
I like what Marelisa said: there’s a limitless supply of ideas waiting to be found. So in a way, there’s nothing new. But look at it differently, and it is all new and exciting: every song, every book, every blog post.
Vered – MomGrinds last blog post..Will You Tell Me A Little Bit About Yourself?
Hi Hunter,
I can say I never get bored thinking there’s nothing new. Every day offers us new experiences. We just have to open our eyes, spread our wings and learn to appreciate that which lies ahead of us. It’s all about attitude.
Barbara Swaffords last blog post..Plugins, Questions and Open Mic
If we look with the past in mind then it is hard to see anything new.
If we look with the future in mind we wish for new things.
If we just open our eyes and actually look we’ll see it is all new.
What, you haven’t seen enough naked women yet?
That’s surprising, in this time and day.
Akemi – Yes to Mes last blog post..Out On Business Travel
Hunter, I’m with Vered. The ladies deserve better. As for perspective, I’m with Jarrod (actually, I like all of the comments here). Orientation with respect to past, present, and future is key to unlocking a sense of novelty in relation to variety.
Christopher
We tell the same stories over and over with different words. The old fade, and the new bloom. Creativity is borrowed, and it isn’t going anywhere.
Writer Dads last blog post..Back to School, Back to You
@ Brett, I agree, sometimes a slightly different perspective is all it takes to make something new enough.
@ RL, I always think it’s funny when someone thinks they’ve exhausted the art of anything. A breakthrough can happen at any time, and who knows what will happen in the next 1,000 years or so?
@ Marelisa, I agree, there will always be new bests, and that counts as new. I don’t think anything has been perfected yet.
@ Vered, OK, now we all know what you get excited about.
I think a lot of it is in our heads–some people don’t want to look at things differently, they just want them to be brand new. I think it’s a lot more fun to look at things differently instead of insisting on everything being revolutionary.
@ Barbara, definitely, it’s all about attitude. Things will be as new as we want to see them. If someone wants to be bored, they will be.
@ Jarrod, nice! If time doesn’t exist, then everything is new.
@ Akemi, well, I don’t think there’s a point where you say “that’s enough!”
@ Christopher, yeah, we’ve had some great comments here. You’ve said a lot there with your last sentence.
@ Writer Dad, I think some stories are worth telling over and over again, even with the same words. And of course, some can be made better with different words. With a little creativity, there’s no limit.
Hi Hunter – it’s ridiculous isn’t it – there’s always something new to explore. A few years ago, I was hearing folk saying that everything that could be invented was already done – but we’re seeing new and exciting stuff all the time.
I don’t think we stretch ourselves enough the only limits to what can be done are the ones in our own minds.
There can be endless possibilities borne out of the same thing. There is still a lot that is left to be explored. The person who can’t see this is basically “dead” to the aliveness of the Universe. Life is of ever expanding!
Evelyn Lims last blog post..68 Seconds Of Pure Thought: Visualize In 4 Creative Ways
@ Cath, supposedly the commissioner of the U.S. patent office said in 1899, “Everything that can be invented has been invented,” though this appears to be a misquote. If someone were to declare that we were done inventing things, wouldn’t there first have to be a period where nothing new was invented? But it seems that new stuff is being invented at a faster rate.
@ Evelyn, “dead to the aliveness of the Universe,” love it!
[...] Seriously, there’s nothing new under the sun. [...]
I agree Solomon. How many perspectives can one have of murder, rape , theft, adultry, etc. When it is all said and done isn’t it just murder,rape, and theft, adultry, etc? Does a new perspective make it any different from what it is? And the new scientific theories of what atoms and space are; yet there is no way of proving any of it. And so it becomes faith based- and is any religion better than the one that came before? Vanities are just vanties , the same ones that have been around since the time of eve. No, there is nothing new under the sun. Life is full of sin and vanities now just as it was then no matter the perspective-and then we die and stand before judgement. Bonne nuitt!