Make It Beautiful Anyway

When you have poured your heart into building something but there’s no applause waiting for you, do you break down completely or resent the world for not appreciating you? Would you do it all over again? I have struggled with this question a lot. In creative pursuits, it is easier to fall in love with the craft, so you don’t care whether the applause comes or not. The craft is enough. Routine life is not that simple. I have a habit of pouring my heart into everything I do because I want things to be efficient and beautiful. Those are the words I live by. First, I strive for maximum efficiency in the process; then I simplify it until it becomes effortlessly beautiful. But oftentimes, these efforts are read as “too much” or “unnecessary.” I understand the pragmatic argument, but it completely misses the aesthetic side of things. There are times when I work tirelessly to make something beautiful. The very virtue of efficiency is that it makes things look simple and effortless. This often…