a thought about being an artist

Do you remember when you were a teenager and felt young, and empowered, and ready to charge at life? Many artists that I speak to tell me that they feel that they have lost touch with that part of themselves. Like they are struggling to be all that they were at that point in their lives again.

There is an old saying about youth being wasted on the young. That was certainly true in my case, although I do not consider myself to be old. Somehow, the ebb and flow of life removes some of the glitter. The mundane worries, like paying bills, and getting dinner ready slowly wears at us.

Here is good news. That kid, the one that sparkled and was audacious . . .that person is still inside you. It is just that years of being told to "fit in", "don't be so loud", "don't wear that!", "don't say that", "everyone wants to be an actress, do you know how few succeed?", "yada yada", whatever it was for you - those things sink in. Slowly you stop wearing the wild clothes, and start dressing like your peers. You stop dreaming about success and start worrying about paying the rent.

I don't meant to say that as an artist can't be responsible and worry about paying the rent. What I am saying is that sometimes the details of life take away the joy of living. Being yourself isn't easy! People are uncomfortable when you aren't just like they are.

For me, the transition began in law school, when I felt tremendous pressure to "look" the part. You may be able to look back to the specific time in your life when it began for you. It is important to get in touch with this because you may have walked away from part of your inherent creativity during that time as well.

It is not uncommon for people to experience "mid life crisis". One theory is that this phenomena is a nostalgia for that time in your life when you were connected to your true self. If you are going through this in your life it is something you may need to deal with.

This is not to say that you need to go back to the clothing and lifestyle of your misspent youth! What it is about is being true to yourself and each of us must find that place for ourselves.

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