This has always happened to me. In the worst moments of my life, when I've felt most alone, most misunderstood, I write better. And the opposite is equally true: when things are going well, when I'm busy and active, the writing gets worse and the ideas dry up.
To be a writer you have to suffer, and use writing as a form of healing. The same could be said of music, or art in general. I've been listening to Linkin Park again lately, and watching how Chester sang each song, you could feel the terrible suffering inside him, the kind that eventually led him to take his own life because he couldn't overcome it.
Negative feelings are purer, more visceral, and far more enduring. They demand a response. Happiness is the opposite. When you're at peace with life, comfortable, there's no urgency to act. You just want to stay there. And that's exactly why it's harder to create from contentment than from pain.
I often find my mind returning again and again to a line that (I think) is from Jung —
“You find what you need where you least want to look.” — That line certainly applies to suffering. But as you have framed it, which I like, imagine the magic of looking willingly. Of choosing to suffer in the knowing that it will help you grow. That’s something.
Thanks Hrvoje. I’m always glad to read your work :)
Thank you for reading Michael. Yes, I think just accepting suffering as an inevitable fact of life and not losing a glimmer of hope even in the deepest pits is a monumental task. To actively seek it is an even harder task, a sign of true fearlessness.
This has always happened to me. In the worst moments of my life, when I've felt most alone, most misunderstood, I write better. And the opposite is equally true: when things are going well, when I'm busy and active, the writing gets worse and the ideas dry up.
To be a writer you have to suffer, and use writing as a form of healing. The same could be said of music, or art in general. I've been listening to Linkin Park again lately, and watching how Chester sang each song, you could feel the terrible suffering inside him, the kind that eventually led him to take his own life because he couldn't overcome it.
Negative feelings are purer, more visceral, and far more enduring. They demand a response. Happiness is the opposite. When you're at peace with life, comfortable, there's no urgency to act. You just want to stay there. And that's exactly why it's harder to create from contentment than from pain.
I often find my mind returning again and again to a line that (I think) is from Jung —
“You find what you need where you least want to look.” — That line certainly applies to suffering. But as you have framed it, which I like, imagine the magic of looking willingly. Of choosing to suffer in the knowing that it will help you grow. That’s something.
Thanks Hrvoje. I’m always glad to read your work :)
Thank you for reading Michael. Yes, I think just accepting suffering as an inevitable fact of life and not losing a glimmer of hope even in the deepest pits is a monumental task. To actively seek it is an even harder task, a sign of true fearlessness.
Agreed. Here’s to trying to take on that task. :)
Sublime, as always.