how creating makes us feel less alone
Few days ago, I was pondering the impact of art in our lives, particularly after stumbling across Edvard Munch's Consolation. Why does a sketch from over a hundred years ago ignite a deep resonance within me? Why do I read a random post from Bearblog's discovery page, and it strikes a powerful chord?
It is because that piece of work has made me feel less alone.
My loneliness often stems from the belief that my struggles are unique, that no one has experienced what I am going through. And loneliness is akin to a malignant disease, always accretive, prolonging and perpetuating itself as it deceives me. However, I may read something which I thought only happened to me and discover that a writer has experienced a similar situation 20 years ago. It is in those moments when a sketch, a poem, or a blogpost mirrors my own experience that I no longer feel alone. It is precisely what I felt glancing at Munch's Consolation.
For people like me, who tend to struggle with loneliness, the epiphany that I am not alone, that someone else has gone through the same thing as me is liberating. Freeing.
I believe this is why I am radically passionate about creating. Creating is confessing, a visually depiction of what's ruminating in my head - from intense emotions to situations I have been experiencing. It is transforming personal turmoil into something tangible, to be seen by others.
So, who knows? Perhaps my creation will find its way to someone else, offering them the same solace I sought in the art of others.