Creative Resistance
On keeping our minds right in dark times
Just a short note today. I'll keep this brief.
Like many of you, I'm reeling from the whirlwind of executive orders and the nightmare on display at our U.S. presidential inauguration yesterday. Kristen and I logged off for the afternoon and didn't watch, which I think was the right choice. Of course, we went to bed reading countless headlines reporting the day’s news. We have been discussing how to survive the next four years with relative sanity. I know many of you can relate.
I'm committing to something for myself and wanted to share it here: We should read the news and stay informed, but let's focus our energies on meaningful creative work instead of wasting too much time and attention on unproductive doomsday anxieties. To be clear, I'm not suggesting we put our heads in the sand, only that we don't drown in social media rabbit holes of despair. That will pay dividends down the line. Right?
Keeping our minds right in the coming months will be challenging. I’m very worried about what lies ahead, but I plan to change my relationship with the news cycle and strike a better balance with the chaos than I did the first time around. I hope you can do the same. Creativity is a practice we can nurture wherever we are. It’s good for us and can sustain us during dark times. It’s obvious stuff but easy to forget.
I bought Rick Rubin’s book, The Creative Act, in 2023 but never got around to reading it. I woke up today realizing that now’s the time. Do you know this book? I’ve heard so many great things about it and suspect many of you may have read it. For those of you who haven’t, Krista Tippet interviewed Rubin for the On Being podcast. Starting tomorrow, I plan to read this with my morning coffee instead of gorging on too much social media. You might do the same.
One more thing…
I’ll leave you with this: the late, great David Lynch riffing on creativity. “A lot of artists think that suffering is necessary,” he says. “But in reality, any kind of suffering cramps the flow of creativity.” I think that’s right. Rest in peace, Sir.
Keep the faith, friends. Please stay in touch. Take care of yourselves and be well.
“Creative Resistance “. 👏🏾 🖐🏾 I’m in
I’m a Canadian who lived in the US during the last debacle. Back in Canada now, but people everywhere are stressed. I plan to be very creative this time, but also not bury my head in the sand. Let’s hope we all survive this next cycle. Be creative everyone!