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« The Six Myths of Creativity | Main | A Few Loose-Ends - Gone Until Jan 6th »

Dec 10, 2004

Comments

Johnnie Moore

Evelyn: A bit tip of the hat to you for sharing this.

I don't know if this relates to your experience, but something I know about myself is the pitfall of over-stimulation. Sometimes the aftermath of a really exciting, creative conversation can be a period of euphoria, followed by a kind of depression. It's a natural bodily response to counter the flood of adranalin flowing.

"Guilt" suggests some kind of internal dialogue is going on, like an inner voice saying something is wrong, morally. For me, when I slow down enough, I realise that before this thought there is a feeling - maybe sadness, maybe vulnerability. And when I just allow that feeling, instead of thinking about it too much... the guilt (or blame or whatever) tends to fade away.

By the way, I think the Puritans get a bit of a bad rap. At best, they favoured a kind of simplicity I admire - and their format for town hall meetings is pretty cool too :)

And thanks again for some top blogging E.

Christopher Bailey

Evelyn, I know exactly what you mean by the guilt you encounter when work is fun. I was raised with a strong sense of that old concept: the Protestant work ethic. I think it goes something like this. Struggle, struggle, eat, rest, struggle, and so on. And my role models didn't exactly refute this line of thinking. My own father never really enjoyed his work, but did it so he could support us. Same for most of my family. And I respect them for their dedication to us. The only person who truly enjoyed her work was my grandmother. She taught 4th grade and found significance through her work. She continues to be a strong influence on the path I'm blazing now toward purposeful work in my life and my efforts to help others do the same.

So, when the voice comes out and insists that you need to tone it down, tell it to go struggle somewhere else, preferably where there are lots of fast moving and heavy vehicles. Cheers, CB

Natalie

Very interesting question and one I've always been struggling with. Just recently on my blog I've been wondering about the guilt that comes with being praised or chosen as "the best" in a creative capacity. While there's no doubt that I enjoy those moments when they occur, they're always accompanied by a feeling that I should make it up to those who didn't make it, my 'rivals' or competitors.

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