"Writing can be a pretty desperate endeavor, because it is about some of our deepest needs: our need to be visible, to be heard, our need to make sense of our lives, to wake up and grow and belong." Even though Anne Lamott was speaking only about writing, I think her statement applies to any creative endeavor. These endeavors can be a little scary at times Why do we send our creations out into the world? Is it mostly about ego-- about having a voice? Is it about gain? I'd like to think that if there really is a deep driving force in me, it is one of growing, of communing with others. I'd like to think that this force is driving me to understand the nature of happiness.
As an introvert, it's often difficult for me to connect with others and yet I want to feel like I am contributing to a positive social consciousness on a real level. By that I mean making the world a better place. Too lofty a goal? Not if I recognize that not all change is loud and not all help is acknowledged; sometimes they are quite off the radar. I think the first step is finding happiness and repeating the discovery again and again.
You can read aphorisms all your life that tell you a variation of "you need to do in order to be [happy]" but you need to be in the right listening space in order to feel the truth and then in the right space again to actually want to implement. In order to do to be happy, I want to send something out into the world no matter how small the scale at least once a week.
Now back to satisfying the basic needs of the sweetly babbling, little guy next to me who wants desperately to be visible.
As an introvert, it's often difficult for me to connect with others and yet I want to feel like I am contributing to a positive social consciousness on a real level. By that I mean making the world a better place. Too lofty a goal? Not if I recognize that not all change is loud and not all help is acknowledged; sometimes they are quite off the radar. I think the first step is finding happiness and repeating the discovery again and again.
You can read aphorisms all your life that tell you a variation of "you need to do in order to be [happy]" but you need to be in the right listening space in order to feel the truth and then in the right space again to actually want to implement. In order to do to be happy, I want to send something out into the world no matter how small the scale at least once a week.
Now back to satisfying the basic needs of the sweetly babbling, little guy next to me who wants desperately to be visible.