Use What You Have

During my junior year of college I found myself studying with a professor I truly did not like. There were many things about her teaching style I didn't enjoy, but her class was one of the core subjects required for my degree program. There was no way around it. I spent 2-4 hours with her several times per week, and while my memories of her remain mostly negative, by some strange workings of the universe she ended up teaching me one of the most valuable lessons I learned during my entire bachelor's degree.

I majored in Contemporary Dance, and during one particularly grueling class with this professor I found myself frozen in an impractical position on the floor in the middle of an improvisation exercise. The point of the exercise was to only move by using the parts of the body that were available to propel the movement. My limbs were twisted awkwardly and the professor was standing over me, red in the face, yelling, "USE WHAT YOU HAVE!"

My mind was a blank, I did not understand what I had. I felt completely stuck, and thought I would remain there like a pretzel on the floor until the class (or week) was over.

Finally my teacher knelt down and put her (by now very red and angry) face on a level with mine and bellowed, "WHAT DO YOU HAVE?!"

It clicked. I had one finger, the pinky on my right hand, anchored to the floor above my head. I pushed that finger into the floor, and my arm responded. I was once again able to move.

While the method may have been unpleasant, the message certainly stuck. As an artist of many stripes, the creative process for me is inextricable from life in general. When I feel hopeless or stuck, when I feel powerless, I often return to that moment on the floor, and ask myself that question. "What do I have?"

Today I went through my kitchen cabinets and pantry shelves, and I pulled out anything that was unopened and not expired. I put it in a bag, and I drove it over to my local food bank to support those people in my community whose SNAP benefits have recently been cut. I did not spend any additional money, I just used what I had to try and do a little bit of good in a world that frequently feels like it is upside down.

Creative thinking, while undervalued in American culture, has never been more important. When we learn how to think outside the box we can find a point, however small, to use as support so that we can propel ourselves forward. Not as individuals, but as a society. Progress has never been made without effort, after all.

If you are able, please donate to your local food bank to help those in need.