there is so much talk about how joy and energy are creative, but most of the time i find it more superficial.
i don't want to generalise, but now i feel that sadness has more depth usually than those "more positive" emotions.
man, now i feel strange. i am old enough to remember when a computer science teacher explained to us for the first time what a semicolon followed by a bracket meant, and i am even a programmer with master's degree, but never i've encountered ToT as a emoticon
normally i'd say amen to that, mate.
funny thing is that i had a panic attack today, first in my life, and i can only reply with a pathetically relativist "depends on the action and depends on anxiety" :)
I’m learning that action can be almost anything. I feel like we’re taught to think of action as doing something with our body when action can also just be laying on the floor and simply BE for a few minutes when things start to feel overwhelming
so all in all, i get what you wanted to say, but with my definition of action your maxim doesn't work in all cases.
during panic attacks, extreme of anxiety that is, inaction and calm is key.
i know that my whole previous comment can feel a bit snippy, but i really feel that if we don't learn stopping concept creep early, we'll eventually find ourselves in a semantic void, where anything can mean anything.
to be honest, since i read about a phenomenon called "concept creep", i don't like extending definitions too far.
it's a fascinating thing you may like to read about it, too.
for me action is something diametrically different from lying on the floor.
Oh I actually agree with you my friend, it’s definitely not a one size fits all situation. As someone who has had panic attacks and has dealt with anxiety for most of his adult life, I understand.
i think that it's just natural reaction of me (mind+body) to sadness, too. i mean shutting down, but i mean only when i leave myself on auto-pilot.
if i am mindful of what i am coming through, i am able to only observe the feeling without getting attached to it and then the motivation kicks in...
A local volunteer tattoo artist will change my four radiation tattoos into something more meaningful while remembering what I survived. I've chosen my design of my friend's profile, my pug's paw print, a hedgehog logo I designed as my cancer mascot, and a daisy-music combo I'm making. #fuckcancer
Absolutely. My best poetry is raw and full of gnarls and heartbreak about the state of the world. But there's also love. oh, by the way, love this on your profile, rah! "doomist but with a fun plan"
yep, the 'state of the world' is a classic source of sadness recently.
stick around to see the fun plan btw. pretty soon we will do something about this doom and gloom ;)
(your profile blurb is pretty good, too)
Ultimately it is the spirit of LIFE within that drives us to create. It is the energy of creation itself. The sadness is your human component seeking to get closer to source, GOD, love, whatever you call it, IT simply wants to create within your water vessel to experience the uniqueness of you.
dunno here. i do a lot to actively stay away from frustration and despite of the world doing a lot to make me frustrated, i kinda succeed most of the time ;)
there is that wonderful meditation practice called TWIM and i'd like to recommend it to you. 2 weeks give or take and frustration's gone ;)
I've been meditating for 42 years. It has its limitations. Not a panacea but it does help clear the clutter. I mean the frustration with no interactions of anything meaningful or at least engaging.
i don't know if i get what you said about the "frustration with no interactions...", but i'd like to share that in my experience when i react on frustration, there's very little (if any) good in it. for me frustration is so unstable that it's making me very randomly and strongly attached.
I'm sure sadness is part of it. Anger. But being utterly flabbergasted, shocked, staggered and gobsmacked is my core motive. I'm just so confused as what the hell is going on. I'm trying to find answers constantly to keep me from going mad. It's a sanctuary.
heard once a wise woman saying something that changed my life completely. and what she said was basically that looking for answers gets us usually nowhere - when we only have a chance we should instead find a way of doing something to stop the madness. then, when we get rid of it, let's ask why.
I learned very early on that there is no stopping the madness, because we are it. There is no reason behind it, it just is. The interesting question i think is what is going on, not why it is.
i understand what you're saying, but i will challenge your first sentence. are you sure that you're not swallowing that billionaires' propaganda about our nature?
in my experience most people are really good and friendly.
and not only in mine - if you're open, have a watch: https://youtu.be/VYubG-SthWs
I think you misunderstood what I'm saying actually. I think, under the right circumstances, most people are kind. Progress is not changing our nature, it's changing those circumstances. We can't change who we are, but given the opportunity, we can choose what to do with it.
I have not, but I can see what you mean. Hope out of denial is a gateway to madness and apathy. Hope as in fierce and calculated resistance in the face of overwhelming odds was my intended definition. Knowing with full awareness and working against it anyways.
i recall when i was writing that i was thinking about my daughter. yes, there were a deep mixture of love for her and sadness about the future...
she's my strongest motivation to act.
tonight i feel that my sadness-driven creations are some kind of part of a fight. it's not like i create in such circumstances to let it out, express, unload, etc., but to support some real change, which i am part of.
I have, unfortunately, the opposite...when it hurts or sad, I freeze like a scared little rabbit in a thorn bush...No strength to create, no strength to fight, thoughts are too much, I have a thought overload...I just wait for the strength to come back again...
I am an empath, introvert with ADHD, maybe because of this...drawing in such moments is difficult and painful, but I am glad the author that you are not like that.... Maybe that's the source of your strength!
commendable.
i have an impression that too many people bottle it up and do nothing all in all. and i am pretty sure that if we all had the courage to act against real sources of our anger, this world would be a pretty neat place in no time.
Indeed, I do try...
I repressed it for a long time, anger isn't well seen and it's quite difficult to direct it well. But I try now to use it a source of energy.
Angst is slow-simmering hatred for something that perpetuates injustice that can't hear screaming against it. Stifled, thwarted, Rebellious: so, exhilarated & exhausted by it. My best writing has been when I'm uncomfortable somehow
300 characters and a neurologic disease
prevents this communication with ease.
I mean I let happiness be part of the act of creation,
rather than ignition of inspiration.
Though is not sadness bold hope for the morrow?
Apathy may be the truest sorrow,
Nothing is quite hollow.
this phenomenon is really curious, don’t you think? joy can be so powerful, yet i also cannot recall any notable piece of art i created while being overflowing with happiness.
seriously, i’m a pretty old guy and started seeing it only yesterday ;)
Perhaps it's the itch that makes us work. And sometimes it's a bit of compensation for suffering the pain - but I only tend to see that when I look back....
how did it happen? was it natural in your case or you supported the process with something? (meditation? therapy?)
and what do you think about the quality? did it stay the same?
sorry for so many questions, but i am really curious.
Sadness is a factor. - I learned to adapt into art, but the reason for making art has always been my "escape" or even my happy place. Sort of like when I am sad, I can be very artistically inclined to use art as a therapy. I also get happy moments and don't want to art at all because I feel good!
I create to understand all emotions. Sadness comes from a variety of uncontrollable situations: injustice, imbalance, loss... Creating contains emotion, placing it within boundaries so that something else may grow.
I have found that I’m able to write more words/ create more art when I’m depressed, and get less done when I’m happy. But I think my long term goal is to steadily increase my output so that I can have consistency.
I’ve often taught that depression is the secret sauce of artistic endeavors. Not all creatives are depressed, but a lot of depressed people are creatives. The trick is to keep creating despite the sometimes paralyzing ennui. Turning sadness into art is my way of “self medicating.”
Yes.But sometimes one experiences sadness as if something isn’t working for them and leave them feeling helpless or stuck.
But I think sadness is an indication that something ìs working for us. A call from deep layers needing to be seen and expressed. At the core all is energy wanting to be freed.
Interesting. When I’m sad or depressed or both, I watch Slap Stick comedy. I begin to laugh and eventually I feel a lot better. I create with the knowledge that my mood swings will even out. That is a blessing along with practicing mindfulness…🙏
yes, practicing mindfulness helps a lot. with everything.
we have very different experiences of our mind, John. i usually don't feel that i need to *do* something with my sadness, but i understand the nature of your reaction.
I like your coping strategy. Sometimes sadness is just brain chemistry, it will pass. Practicing mindfulness & gratitude helps me cope. I just wish i could practice mindfulness more often.
Bhante Vimalaramsi used to say "meditation is life and life is meditation". at some point the difference between being mindful within meditation and being mindful all the time starts to disappear.
i am not on that level yet, but it's good to remember that you can practice mindfulness *all the time*.
I've always been envious of people who can create in spite of or in response to their pain. I think it's miraculous and I've never been able to do it, I've always just shut down sadly. I'm feeling more of a push to try lately though, it might be how I'm going to make it through the next few years
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i don't want to generalise, but now i feel that sadness has more depth usually than those "more positive" emotions.
so many enraged people, so little action.
pre emoji emoticons 🤣
:P was my favourite back in the day.
funny thing is that i had a panic attack today, first in my life, and i can only reply with a pathetically relativist "depends on the action and depends on anxiety" :)
during panic attacks, extreme of anxiety that is, inaction and calm is key.
it's a fascinating thing you may like to read about it, too.
for me action is something diametrically different from lying on the floor.
if i am mindful of what i am coming through, i am able to only observe the feeling without getting attached to it and then the motivation kicks in...
I haven't been able to create most art forms as before because of side effects from chemo. That has brought up so much sadness with no outlet.
I'm finding ways.
makes me smile now.
i liked to run when sad, too. slow tempo, lot of Nature, yes.
stick around to see the fun plan btw. pretty soon we will do something about this doom and gloom ;)
(your profile blurb is pretty good, too)
amen to that, friend.
there is that wonderful meditation practice called TWIM and i'd like to recommend it to you. 2 weeks give or take and frustration's gone ;)
but it's what we do with that rejection, as you say, mate.
in my experience most people are really good and friendly.
and not only in mine - if you're open, have a watch:
https://youtu.be/VYubG-SthWs
i observe it daily as a companion of denial.
have you heard of the term "hopium"?
she's my strongest motivation to act.
It is a great distraction, but it shows that if that event in your life isn't going to take you out, might as well create something from it.
i have an impression that too many people bottle it up and do nothing all in all. and i am pretty sure that if we all had the courage to act against real sources of our anger, this world would be a pretty neat place in no time.
I repressed it for a long time, anger isn't well seen and it's quite difficult to direct it well. But I try now to use it a source of energy.
to let it be a symphony
art as comfort and need
to disperse as solidarity
rather than expression of greed
i mean, please do, i really enjoy it.
prevents this communication with ease.
I mean I let happiness be part of the act of creation,
rather than ignition of inspiration.
Though is not sadness bold hope for the morrow?
Apathy may be the truest sorrow,
Nothing is quite hollow.
seriously, i’m a pretty old guy and started seeing it only yesterday ;)
and what do you think about the quality? did it stay the same?
sorry for so many questions, but i am really curious.
But you are right, I think it’s a strong (and truthful) motivator.
i hope it will pass soon and you'll emerge stronger.
But I think sadness is an indication that something ìs working for us. A call from deep layers needing to be seen and expressed. At the core all is energy wanting to be freed.
we have very different experiences of our mind, John. i usually don't feel that i need to *do* something with my sadness, but i understand the nature of your reaction.
i am not on that level yet, but it's good to remember that you can practice mindfulness *all the time*.