Flocking

This time of year, the birds decide to be totally unpredicatable and completely dumb. They fly in flocks without a leader and create these massive clouds the weave and bob in some imaginary sequence as they prepare for their migration. Today, I actually had to pull the car over and wait for this massive congregation to fly past and settle on the nearby field. Right as I started the car up again, it startled one of them and sent the whole entire bunch of them back into the air. All I could think of was the Alfred Hitchcock movie and that blond screaming for her dear life. To me, that group of birds perfectly personified the mob rule of society- how people can follow and get themselves all worked up for no apparent reason and act stupid by allowing themselves to be directed by someone who hasn't a clue where they are going. I did not see any one of them go off on their own and do something different, they all needed to follow suit in one uniform swarm. In art, so often folks use the samples they see as a crutch and they end up creating a carbon copy of the sample aimlessly, never thinking to go off and do their own thing. Creativity is about gleaning inspiration and making it your own, putting your own touches on things and giving it a personality that reflects your own quirkiness; it's about choosing not to go with the flock.