Finding Community With Other Artists
All my life I’ve been “different.” I just don’t seem to be wired in ways that so many other people are. I can’t memorize to save my soul (a real problem in our public school system). My brain doesn’t seem to function in ways I witness in others. I experience the world very generally and it’s difficult to remember details. I FEEL a great deal. My heart seems always to be open. I am easily overwhelmed. I’ve come to believe this difference is what makes me an artist. It seems that so much of me is built to create that I had to sacrifice other aspects (a price I happily pay).
Now I find myself living and working among other artists and I no longer feel so different…
… I have found community with people who are built to create too. I have, as the saying goes, found my tribe. I recognize these people and they recognize me. It’s hard to put into words how meaningful that is.
While we are all individuals with different preferences, it is safe to say that none of us yearn to work for IBM or Microsoft. For the most part, we have not followed traditional paths.
We are willing to sacrifice security in order to make our art. We live eclectic lives that some don’t understand. It’s so lovely to finally be among others who think it’s realistic to follow our hearts; practical to pursue our dreams.
So we gather for dinners together and shore each other up through the hard times…
… celebrate our successes during the good.
We all understand the struggle of living the dream, but we all also understand that, for us, it is not a choice. This is how we must live, period.
For whatever reason, much of the cultural indoctrination didn’t stick to us. We are mostly iconoclasts, to one degree or another. And it is a great relief to find “family” in those who move through the world in similar ways to me.
Clarissa Pinkola Estes writes in Women Who Run With the Wolves about the necessity of finding what we belong to. Here, in Truchas, New Mexico I believe I have.
Love to you all,
Jeane
AHHHHHHHHHHH Gratitude:) And thanks giving celebrated.
“At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.”
Albert SchweitzerGracie
A lovely quote Grace, and very appropriate for this post. It’s exactly how I feel about my family of friends (you included). I’m posting it on FB.