many people have said that doing art is merely creating something you want to see. if the world has not provided it for you, then you have to provide it for yourself.

if we accept that "true" originality within a western scale is no longer possible because of the centuries it's been in use, that doesn't take into account the thousands of millions of compositions that have been lost, forgotten, or otherwise failed to be exposed. if those tunes are unknowingly re-invented (or approximated) by a modern composer, i would assert that s/he is still exercising full creativity.

and if you're a tune-o-phile and know every celtic tune in the world, but still haven't seen one that combines this element with that, and is played at this tempo with these ornaments, then writing that tune is still an act of creativity, and is still art to me.

and if two people have the same wonderful idea at the same time, the coincidence doesn't diminish the genius of either.

if our individual creativity is a part of some vast repeating pattern, we needn't feel that our own contribution is somehow less important. rather, we should feel honored that we can participate.