Being an artist comes at a cost.
But first lets define an artist. Literally anything that is done out of love can be termed as art. But for now an artist would be an Actor, Writer, Musician, Dancer. I wouldn’t consider Dancers for this article since I am yet to see miserable dancers.
Why are Writers, Actors and Musicians miserable??
Even if they make a living out of their art, which many people (esp office going) dream of but never have the courage to follow through on. Even if they have many admirers, lovers, fans, why are most artists on some or the other stimulants?
Cigarettes, drugs, alcohol, pills, all the stimulants.
What’s behind this?
Are they not grateful enough? Shouldn’t they appreciate what they have by looking at others who are lacking it?
It’s not that simple…
Going back to my first statement; Being an artist comes at a cost.
And for all the riches and admiration they have gained, they have to pay for it in another ways.
Ways you and I don’t. Although even the soundcloud rapper who hasn’t made a dollar out of their music yet, suffers from the same perils of the rich and highly achieved artist.
What a shame!
What perils?
Being an artist is being an intellectual. And being an intellectual means you have to almost always be in thought. Most of your day will be spend lost in thoughts.
There are almost never moments of calm. Well, outside of when you’re performing your art.
The immersion while singing a song, writing a book, acting in the movie scene, is quite impossible for the artist to replicate outside i.e in their regular domestic lives.
The flow state, if I may call it.
Take the writer for example. For 1 hit piece they write, they have about a 100 failed pieces. Similarly, out of a thousand garbage thoughts they have throughout the day, one good idea emerges, which turns into a draft, which turns into a book.
Can they just skip to the good idea instead and not have the garbage thoughts?? I don’t think it’s easy
Genius does emerge from a heap of crap.
These garbage ideas or thoughts can sometimes take a more critical form.
“This was a shit idea”
“Maybe you’re not that good anymore”
“What is x/y/z going to say about it?”
“Remember that horrible thing that happened to you when you were a child?”
These garbage thoughts literally weigh the artist down.
And in order to feel good, they get hooked to all the drugs and stimulants society provides.
Don’t for one second think it wont affect their art which it will. Anybody who consumes their art can see for themselves.
But the money doesn’t stop coming in, nor the new fans.
And the artist is content.
So what do the non miserable artists do differently?
Going off just the patterns of what we see, artists that serve something greater than themselves through their art are generally happy and less prone to addictions.
To serve something greater than yourself is essentially taking YOURSELF out of the pedestal of your life and keep what you serve on top of it.
An example is God himself.
A singer who sings for god, and actor who acts for god, or a writer who writes the word of god, are generally happy.
An intellectual artist only has their ego as the god.
And the ego is a ruthless god.
This god is never satisfied, throws crumbs of joy at you from time to time, disconnects you from the community and the whole and essentially isolates you. Even with hundreds of people around them, they are isolated in their mind. Suffering from thoughts.
