Lost?
You ever feel lost? Unable to get started? It’s when the ideas don’t come, especially when you need to be creative. Me? The energy isn’t there—no enthusiasm. Even when things are fine, I can feel lost. Like now. I don’t know why.
My artist friends, like Jim Haller, and even the masters--painters, writers, composers—have all reported dry spells. Or being frozen, unable to think. Much advice has been given over the centuries: write one true sentence or place a color, any color on the canvas. Or, play any two notes together. Or bake a cake.
But often the simple tricks don’t work. Those of us with PTSD know it goes much deeper than just getting started. What’s the point of it all? What does it matter? Everything seems lost. Hopeless. What’s the answer? The bright works of Alan Braley?
Yes, right now, I’m going for the wonderful works of a few artists I know, like Andrei Kushner… works that can stir and cheer me. And maybe I’ll listen to the great jazz of the ‘30s or rock and roll of the ‘50s. Happy stuff.
And maybe go for a walk by a creek. No matter how hot or cold it gets, Nature, the living body of the supernatural, may be the best remedy for PTSD. If stuck inside, I can look to the moving, dramatic paintings of Lynn Mehta.
Lost? Try to find a way out of the gloom by looking for the light—the brightness in art, or music or stories.
Maybe all three.
Thanks, I needed this column.