Writers have long made sense of the world through their writing.
It’s how we synthesise things that are happening and how we put words around, and therefore make sense of, events that affect us.
But what happens when there’s SO much happening that writing seems insignificant?
When it seems like words aren’t enough to hold back the tide of darkness, sadness, despair?
Right now, things big and small and infinitesimal are happening that I and my friends despair to see in the world.
War in Ukraine.
Revisionist attempts to erase the history of the holocaust.
The rise of fascism and the far right.
Erosion of women’s rights, LGBTQIA+ rights, POC and trans rights.
Runaway climate change.
And so much more that I can’t list everything or we’d be here for years.
There’s so much that needs to be done, and for one person to deal with that is overwhelming.
It’s tempting to think we can’t have an effect. And I get that. I feel it on a regular basis myself.
My advice is to write anyway.
Write about how insignificant writing feels.
Write and write and write until there’s a light, a glimmer of hope.
Write the darkness back from you, in an ever-spreading pool – if not of hope, then of a little tiny bit less darkness.
Humans turn to art to cope with life when things are tough.
Stories keep us going, keep us sane, keep the thread of hope alive.
We cling to the music, art and stories that give us the strength to take the next step.
I remember the songs I listened to in particularly tough times: listened to them over and over and over on repeat. Sometimes they were rousing anthems, sometimes melancholy yearning pieces that made me ache for what could be; the beauty of the world that was buried under the weight of events.
I remember the writing I read, often over and over as a kind of talisman, familiar and bolstering. Whole novels that are my go-tos in hard times. Occasionally they’re escapist, but sometimes they’re tales of how people, ordinary people, overcame the odds to emerge changed, but whole.
I’m grateful to the people who made those things, so I could take comfort and get through.
So when things are tough and the world seems old and grey and harsh, make the art, do the creative thing. And make something that could make a difference to someone.
Whether that’s writing, drawing, recording music; whatever creative thing floats your boat: do that.
While it might not solve the problems we’re confronted with, it might just raise up someone who needs it at that moment. And that’s the function of art.
Humans are amazing. Everyone’s an artist or creative; let’s do the thing and help each other get through.
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