My "whatever pain you can't get rid of, make it your creative offering" personal essay was published! When I felt pulled to write this article, I kept hearing this idea in my mind, before this post. The creative process of writing it is what transformed the pain of an experience of invisible grief into something else, something beautiful. I didn't see a place to share our art so I am posting it in this thread.
Thank you, Susan Cain for giving a concept that helped me anchor my creativity and process my grief experience into this personal essay.
Thank you for sharing this beautiful list from your book "Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole." These ten key ideas capture such profound truths about the human experience and how we can transform our pain and longing into something meaningful.
Your insights about how sad music makes us "want to touch the sky" and how creativity allows us to "look pain in the eye and turn it into something else" are particularly poignant.
There's something deeply resonant about the idea that our oldest problem is separation and our deepest dream is reunion.
All 10 points deeply resonate with me, but today, right now, at this very moment I take for myself "The art we love best, the music we love most, express our yearning for a perfect and beautiful world.", for I feel I can somehow live through the art that moves me and the music that elevates me 💛
Poetry, writing, illustration and design have helped me to heal on my own journey to wholeness. I agree that your pain can be turned into your creative offering. Creativity is a gift.
“Creativity has the power to look pain in the eye and turn it into something else.”
This one especially speaks to me today. Thanks for this. I feel inspired to look embarrassment, loneliness, shame, anger, disappointment and feelings of being pathetic in the eye and turn them into value-creating things.. 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽💜💜💜
oh Susan. 4, 5, and 9 all resonate. My father passed away on January 29, his viewings & mass & celebration was February 3 and 4. The flowing & chasing watercolor type bleed of joy, grief, sorrow, laughter for hundreds of people was (still is) incredible, humbling, grounding, infuriating, overwhelming, glorious. The timing of the email was in the midst of all that - when I was glancing in on my life - and the truth of bittersweet was all around me. Seeing the words stopped me, paused me is more accurate. I couldn't absorb them, but they resonated, stayed with me in the background. I just read it this morning from a bit more calmer place, but not yet fully absorbing or able to read it completely.
We are in the Philly area, my dad was a 'uge Iggles (translation: huge eagles) fan; ribbons on his flower displays said Go Irish and Go Birds; my 2 brothers and I each did a brief eulogy, and at the end of the final one - people in the church were reciting the eagles fight song with us.
Community, creativity, music / words definitely transcending grief even as people were sobbing.
while I take comfort in the list, I’d like to comment on the rustic boots!
I think the photograph is perfect for the Bitter-sweet book title. Some may cringe at the traveled feet resting on the pure white cushion but isn’t it always in the mix, bitterness, alongside sweetness? and vice versa? The eye sees the warmth of the boots (the roads we’ve walked) and travels to the top of your golden head, (our thinking) leading us to the feminine bronze figurine, now at peace within the bittersweet world. We decide what we want to see. 💕
I feel the ideas on this list can all correlate with each other in some way, profundity within each one of them is quite lovely. Just want to marinate in them... Longing always been in me and I feel it always will; it's the way our souls speak to us, road to transcendence is within our longing heart...Some of the most beautiful things came through the pain of another longing, Unfortunate pain of tragedy, open soulful depths, tapping beauty of our longing wake...
Thank you for this! Grief has been my pain since my dad passed in August (6 minutes in “Grief time”) and I can feel it opening up my creativity to express sadness and help others honor theirs. Thank you for the additional inspiration today! And I also appreciate the explanation of the boots - they are lovely.
Number 5 jumped out at me - "Whatever pain you can’t get rid of, make it your creative offering." It's only as I get older that I realise how helpful creativity is in helping me process and then understand pain and life's challenges. It's a truly healing balm for me. Oh, and also a good dose of Number 4 - Music! ☺️
“Transform your pain into beauty, your longing into belonging.” << I have often heard advice akin to the first part of this lesson, but the latter is such an essential part of a whole.
My "whatever pain you can't get rid of, make it your creative offering" personal essay was published! When I felt pulled to write this article, I kept hearing this idea in my mind, before this post. The creative process of writing it is what transformed the pain of an experience of invisible grief into something else, something beautiful. I didn't see a place to share our art so I am posting it in this thread.
Thank you, Susan Cain for giving a concept that helped me anchor my creativity and process my grief experience into this personal essay.
https://tinybuddha.com/blog/how-grieving-a-dreams-loss-built-hope-for-a-new-life/
Thank you for sharing this beautiful list from your book "Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole." These ten key ideas capture such profound truths about the human experience and how we can transform our pain and longing into something meaningful.
Your insights about how sad music makes us "want to touch the sky" and how creativity allows us to "look pain in the eye and turn it into something else" are particularly poignant.
There's something deeply resonant about the idea that our oldest problem is separation and our deepest dream is reunion.
It’s great work. I enjoyed reading your posts very much. Clearly a subject you are familiar with.
Thank you for "getting it," Becky!
All 10 points deeply resonate with me, but today, right now, at this very moment I take for myself "The art we love best, the music we love most, express our yearning for a perfect and beautiful world.", for I feel I can somehow live through the art that moves me and the music that elevates me 💛
Poetry, writing, illustration and design have helped me to heal on my own journey to wholeness. I agree that your pain can be turned into your creative offering. Creativity is a gift.
“Creativity has the power to look pain in the eye and turn it into something else.”
This one especially speaks to me today. Thanks for this. I feel inspired to look embarrassment, loneliness, shame, anger, disappointment and feelings of being pathetic in the eye and turn them into value-creating things.. 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽💜💜💜
Love this:
“Creativity has the power to look pain in the eye and turn it into something else”
So needed this morning.
Thank you for the kind call to welcome our deepest sorrow and grief into our world as a precious gift.
oh Susan. 4, 5, and 9 all resonate. My father passed away on January 29, his viewings & mass & celebration was February 3 and 4. The flowing & chasing watercolor type bleed of joy, grief, sorrow, laughter for hundreds of people was (still is) incredible, humbling, grounding, infuriating, overwhelming, glorious. The timing of the email was in the midst of all that - when I was glancing in on my life - and the truth of bittersweet was all around me. Seeing the words stopped me, paused me is more accurate. I couldn't absorb them, but they resonated, stayed with me in the background. I just read it this morning from a bit more calmer place, but not yet fully absorbing or able to read it completely.
We are in the Philly area, my dad was a 'uge Iggles (translation: huge eagles) fan; ribbons on his flower displays said Go Irish and Go Birds; my 2 brothers and I each did a brief eulogy, and at the end of the final one - people in the church were reciting the eagles fight song with us.
Community, creativity, music / words definitely transcending grief even as people were sobbing.
thank you for your beautiful comment, Kelly. We're so sorry for the loss of your father - and, amazing to have such a celebration of his life.
while I take comfort in the list, I’d like to comment on the rustic boots!
I think the photograph is perfect for the Bitter-sweet book title. Some may cringe at the traveled feet resting on the pure white cushion but isn’t it always in the mix, bitterness, alongside sweetness? and vice versa? The eye sees the warmth of the boots (the roads we’ve walked) and travels to the top of your golden head, (our thinking) leading us to the feminine bronze figurine, now at peace within the bittersweet world. We decide what we want to see. 💕
I feel the ideas on this list can all correlate with each other in some way, profundity within each one of them is quite lovely. Just want to marinate in them... Longing always been in me and I feel it always will; it's the way our souls speak to us, road to transcendence is within our longing heart...Some of the most beautiful things came through the pain of another longing, Unfortunate pain of tragedy, open soulful depths, tapping beauty of our longing wake...
“Whatever pain you can’t get rid of, make it your creative offering.”
And “Sad music makes us want to touch the sky”
So simply said (the most difficult thing to do) and so profound!
Thank you for this! Grief has been my pain since my dad passed in August (6 minutes in “Grief time”) and I can feel it opening up my creativity to express sadness and help others honor theirs. Thank you for the additional inspiration today! And I also appreciate the explanation of the boots - they are lovely.
“Our oldest problem is the pain of separation, our deepest dream is the desire for reunion.”
Hopeful that my creative “art” will bring me home, and that someone besides me will be there.
Number 5 jumped out at me - "Whatever pain you can’t get rid of, make it your creative offering." It's only as I get older that I realise how helpful creativity is in helping me process and then understand pain and life's challenges. It's a truly healing balm for me. Oh, and also a good dose of Number 4 - Music! ☺️
So much of this reminds me of my own experience of grief, worry, hopelessness and my path of healing through stitching.
“Transform your pain into beauty, your longing into belonging.” << I have often heard advice akin to the first part of this lesson, but the latter is such an essential part of a whole.