A Creative’s Conversation with God in the Beforelife

Creative: It looks beautiful down there.

God: It is. Truly. 

Creative: So, what am I going to do?

God: You’re going to be a creative. 

Creative: What does that mean?

God: People will sometimes forget just how beautiful life is. It’ll be your job to remind them. You’ll wake people up, reach into their souls, and express things they’ve struggled to articulate. You’ll create things that hold their feelings and help them feel less alone. There will be times you’ll bring people together in a shared experience, moving them to tears or joy or laughter. 

Creative: Wow.

God: Yeah, it’s a big job. But it comes with drawbacks. 

Creative: Like what? 

God: Well, for starters, you’ll have to be a bit of a sponge. You’ll have to walk through the world, soaking up feelings, thoughts, and experiences. You’ll need to keep your soul open. Take things in and let them mix around inside you. Then, once they’ve melded together into something entirely new, you’ll push them back out into the world.

Creative: Will everyone like what I create?

God: Not always, no. Some people just won’t vibe with it, and because you’ll be human, you’ll find that hard.

Creative: Will it hurt?

God. Oh yeah. And you’ll forget this conversation, so when someone doesn’t like what you’ve made, you’ll hate yourself. 

Creative: Do I have to hate myself?

God: No. But it’ll take you a lifetime to figure that out.

Creative: Christ.

God: Language.

Creative: Sorry.

God: But when people do vibe with it? It will feel like magic.

Creative: Is there a way to make it work all the time?

God: No. If it was an exact science, it wouldn’t be so special. That’s why AI is going to be such a terrible idea.

Creative: What’s AI?

God: Erm…don’t worry about that for now.

Creative: Okay. It’ll be a hard life then?

God: Sometimes. Especially those times when someone hires you and says, I could do it myself, I just don’t have the time.

Creative: Who says that?

God: Twats.

Creative: Oh, okay. Are there lots of them?

God: Sadly, yes. 

Creative: Alright. Anything else?

God: Just one thing. At times, you will be insufferable. You’ll take everything to heart and even though you’ll swear you want feedback, you don’t really mean it. One tiny bit of criticism or a mediocre review and you’ll spend days crying about it and boring the tits off your friends and family. You’ll spend your evenings eating chocolate while listening to Tori Amos on repeat, convinced that no one understands you and you’re the only one who’s ever suffered this much. Then some random person on the internet will give you a like and you’ll be on the up again.

Creative: Bloody hell. It hardly seems worth it.

God: Oh. It’s worth it. 

Creative: Okay, if you say so. Will there be wine?

God: There will always be wine. Why do you think I invented it? So, are you ready?

Creative: No.

God: Do you want to do it anyway?

Creative: Oh, go on then.