Sunday, December 21, 2014

'Two Great Enemies Of Creative Work'

Wendell Berry (Photograph: Guy Mendes)

Holidays can be a lonely time for many of us, but perhaps not as much for those who understand, and are use to solitude.

I always felt a little depressed listening to Joni Mitchell's lyrics, about her being a lonely painter, living in a box of paints. As a angst ridden teenager wanting to pursue art, I  often felt this way. Thank God teenaged years don't last!

As an adult, I learned over the years, that solitude is not loneliness. Many folks fear solitude, or being alone, as they may feel solitude will cause them to be lonely. Artist's need to be comfortable with and I believe have to have a love of solitude, but they don't need to be lonely, but if you despair, this can be very detrimental to your creativity as can pride be, according to Wendell Berry.
  " We enter solitude, in which also we lose loneliness…" - Wendell Berry

Here is a wonderful article about what, prolific writer, American novelist, poet, environmental activist, cultural critic, and farmer, Wendell Berry has to say about pride, despair, solitude and creativity.

" A creation of importance can only be produced when it's author isolates him/herself,
 it is a child of solitude." - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 


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