Therapy

I couldn’t agree more with the section on creativity as therapy. I have often found myself on the verge of insanity with no real outlet except creativity. I grab a pen, or my computer and I will write whatever comes into my head. It doesn’t have to be a certain subject matter, or coherent, for that matter. As long as I am creating something that is important to me all my ailments seem to fall away and I am relieved. If it’s not writing, then it’s some other creative outlet. I also paint, and though I find it impossible to paint formally, so to speak, with a subject matter, and some bit of realism, I paint nonetheless/ In fact, I haven’t painted anything that couldn’t be done just as well as any first grader. However, how it looks to other people is not even close to the point for me. I generally only paint when I find myself in situations that I have not let my ideas just flow for a while, or if I’m just stressed out, or any other host of reasons. The mere fact that I’m creating something is more than enough reason to do it. I will lock myself in a room with a few gallons of paint and simply go to work on my walls. I almost never realize what I’m creating until it’s finished and then I’m in one of the best moods that anyone can be in.

Creativity as therapy is something that I understand, as well as practice. It’s not about what you create, but why, and in that sense the pieces become a biography of your life… so much more than a collection.