ART
The Challenge Every Artist/Writer Must Encounter
And why all creatives must embrace it.
“Were it otherwise, he would not have been able to find these words.” — RAINER MARIA RILKE, Letters To A Young Poet.
There I was on my chair, peering casually at the ceiling. The frustration was intense. The story could not get out. The creative outlets were clogged with muds.
For an hour I was trying to pick the first words to push the dirt out. But the more I tried, the harder it became.
“But I woke up with a picture of this story! Why do I find it difficult to it?!” I wondered quietly.
Not knowing what else to do, I picked the book, Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke to continue where I stopped the day before: the 8th letter.
Towards the close of that letter, Raine’s last words to the young poet, Mr. Kappus leaped out to me:
“And if there is one thing more that I must say to you, it is this: Do not believe that he who does seek to comfort you lives untroubled among the simple and quiet words that sometimes do you good. His life has much difficulty and sadness and remains far behind yours. Were it otherwise, he would not have been able to find those words.” — Letters To A Young Poet.
Every work of art bears a fragment of our lives
It was an epiphany. I saw myself through the mirror of those words. I won myself back from the frustration. I recollected my creativity.
Then I recognized that artists/writers should learn to embrace difficulties. For without it, art is impossible.
It becomes more appropriate to write about writer’s block when you have experienced it yourself. Inspiring others to never give up becomes more real if you have held on even when it seemed there was no hope.
The beauty of art is in the experiences of the artist’s life. For we are only but an ambassador of those things which we have suffered. And every work of art carries a fragment of our lives.
Artists are only but ambassadors of those things they have suffered. Of their sorrows as well as their joy. Of their failure as well as their success. But especially of the first.
And the result of passing through those difficulties is growth. For without difficulties, it is impossible to grow. This is true both in art and in life.
The struggle is real and universal. Every true artist bears his cross. But it is worth it. For it comes with benefits. So rejoice when they come your way. For in those experiences you find the words to comfort, inspire, and to guide others in the journey of life. Those are the things that make you an artist.
Final thoughts:
I leave you with these words of the talented poet,
“It is always what I have always said: always the wish that you may find patience enough in yourself to endure, and simplicity enough to believe; that you acquire more and more confidence in that which is difficult, and in your solitude among others. Amd for the rest, let life happen to you. Believe me; life is right in any case.” — RAINER MARIA RILKE, Letters to a Young Poet.
