Catharsis

Every person has different has a need to create and expresses himself in different ways.  Anything really that you thought of is your creation; it doesn’t mean it’s unique, because out of over 6 billion people, chances are high that 2 people will think alike – but it’s *your* idea, and it’s your creation, and it’s your thought, and *you* have a need to express it.  It also doesn’t mean that you’ll create some work of genius, or come up with some earth-shattering wisdom; this is not always important – creating, even something as insignificant or minuscule as a blog on your web page is cathartic and satisfies the soul.  Some people can do this through painting, and others like to blab.  But how can someone express themselves without fuel?  Without the proper stimulus?  Drawing on past experiences will only get you so far before you’ve said it all.  I’m definitely one for going out in the woods and writing the best prose of your life, or writing a knock-out novel, being the next Ansel Adams in the wilderness of Yosemite; to do all this you at some point need intelligent human interaction.  Oh sure, you get intelligent interaction with your co-workers discussing what the next hottest filesystem is, or analyzing the new model of the flux capacitor, and while, yes, creative processes are functioning when you’re at work in order to solve problems – this is creativity you’re being asked or told to regurgitate.  You do it because you need some food in your stomach, and a warm blanket over you and your Serta mattress, and if you’re lucky you might even get some enjoyment out of it, but there isn’t a job in the world that can grant you the same satisfaction of creativity as the kind you’re impelled to express of you own free will.  And this is the kind of interaction I’m referring to; the kind with like-minded individuals who fuel your free thinking and you fuel theirs.  It’s refreshing to be able to have an intelligent, analytical conversation with a friend when all parties involved enjoy the particular subject, be it music, art, poetry, or anything.

The past year of my life cannot be described as busy – it would be an understatement.  I have been busier and more involved with my secular work than I have ever been so far in my carreer.  It’s good and it’s bad.  The good is obvious (to me), but the bad is the burn-out.  I’m burning out and I don’t like it.  You don’t feel like doing anything after you’ve come home from work with your brain having been smoldering all day, much less be creative, debate, analyze or discuss anything, and this dumbs you down and has a negative effect on your mental being.  You even start to get discouraged, believing that your creative juices have dried up and shriveled like a prune, and that you’ll never see them or feel them again.  But fear not, for the faucet is close-by and the handle ever-so-easy to turn – we just forget sometimes where the kitchen is, or are too tired to go to it.

Today I had a pleasant conversation with a friend of mine, and we talked about poetry and music, and we analyzed songs and poems, and talked about life, etc – just nice and relaxed conversation, and but look!  The faucet is leaking once more, and I’m happy for it.  In fact I had to rush downstairs after I took a shower to turn on my laptop so I wouldn’t forget what was coming to my mind to write, and here I am writing once more.  Yes, it’s probably insignificant to the world, but it makes me feel good, and helps with my catharsis – and I’m not alone, all you bloggers and writers out there :-)