At this time of year, we all begin thinking about making changes in our lives like resolutions. I guess my own aha “moment” came to me immediately when I slipped on the ice and became bedbound for a while. I laid around bored and angry not paying much attention to my inner voices which were calling out to me to take this time to begin thinking about publishing. Breaking a hip can be life-threatening at my age. I was thankful only my body, pride and ego was bruised but I hated taking time away from my work. During the brief ride in an ambulance, I began thinking about my own expectations as a writer and artist. Was I really fulfilling my dreams? I could will myself to be a successful writer or artist any more than I could will myself able to get out of bed. I did a lot of thinking about my expectations as a writer and artist. Lying in bed I could do not much more than “think.” I figure my biggest responsibility as an artist and writer is to be expressive, stay original and keep on keeping on for the sake of my readers. On good days, I can't dig myself out of paper or clay. You see, I'm a writer, clay artist, poet and a student of Art Therapy when I'm well and rested. Many think the most engaging powers of an author and/or artist is to make new things familiar and familiar things new. Most of us have to make a plan to be creative. To do this we have to take the time to say good-bye to old ideas. Eleanor Roosevelt says “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift: that's why they call it the present.” If it is true everything happens for a reason, perhaps, my taking some time to rest and think about my craft has been a good thing rather than a bad thing. Sometimes it takes more time to digest art than to make it.
If you're wondering what Art Therapy is, The American Art Therapy Association says that “Art Therapy is an established mental health profession that uses the creative process of art making to improve and enhance the physical, mental and emotional well-being of individuals of all ages. It is based on the belief that the creative process involved in artistic self-expression helps people to resolve, conflicts and problems, develop interpersonal skills, manage behavior, reduce stress, increase self-esteem and self-awareness and achieve insight.” Creative expression, therefore, allows us to transform our feelings into tangible expressions, much like the poem I wrote below:
When twilight chases day:
Heavens twinkled with the delight
Of a thousand artists' eyes
the day but one, a fireball called
the sun, to help us get our day's
work done,
When twilight chases day,
Heavens twinkled with the delight
Of a thousand artists' eyes,
All called upon to pay their due,
writers must write, painters must
paint; musicians are most blessed
for all, for their work they get to
play for you!
Of course, real life is under no obligation to be interesting and the difference between fiction and reality is that fiction often makes sense. Real life is much more complicated and can never be dictated like a story. There are so many mishaps, wrong turns, and new directions and revisits to explore. In other words, there are no formulas for living like there are for writing and making art. Philip K. Dick says, “The basic tool for the manipulation of reality is the manipulation of words. If you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use the words.” Although I believe writers should have good vocabularies, I'm not sure writers should want to control as much as entertain, inform and turn the burning inside our heads into positive thinking, researching and recording. Some say it is our uniqueness alone that that we writers and artists have for sale.
For me, my will to write is like a devouring flame, resistless, relentless. It is also an antidote for my depression. Halfway between my waking and sleeping, as well as my bickering and strife, I pray my imagination never fails me and my hands never quit working for me. My happiness and wellness comes from self-expression. Cathy Malchiodi, today's leading expert on Art Therapy says, “The soul's palette is many things: an agent of transformation, a therapy for the psyche, a salve for body and mind, and a remedy for the ills of individuals, communities and the world.” Our dreams, hopes and inner voices are worth exploring. When we truly follow our inner voices, it is magical even when they see to it that we must take a “rest.”
Regards ...
Reginald V. Johnson