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Friday, May 25, 2007

Got the ague?

Isn't ague a great word? I love it. And I think it describes what I'm talking about in this post. I went to a networking meeting yesterday, as a writer, editor and teacher of writing and creativity classes. What struck me, hard, is how many people have the "ague" of creativity. Most of the attendees at this meeting were realtors, financial advisors and bankers--practical right-brain people, right (it is the right brain that is math and stuff, isn't it?)? What do they care about the woo-woo world of creativity? I mean, most of the time you can't go to the bank with it!

And yet, most people I spoke with confessed a secret yearning to write...and granted they probably spoke to me because of their secret--but I talked to a lot of people (it was networking, after all) and was a bit surprised. And they spoke of this secret passion as if though it was something they had caught, like an ague, something they didn't want, like an ague, a disease that isn't fatal, but uncomfortable. Something best not talked about except to a fellow sufferer. Something that you want to "get over."

So here's a

TIP: In our culture, creativity isn't honored--that doesn't mean it's an illness. Why not embrace the ecstasy of whatever your creative passion may be? There's no cure, so why make yourself miserable? ENJOY!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sometimes I am uncomfortable admitting that I am artistic. But more often I feel like a poser. I tell someone I like writing and they ask if I'm published. If I said I like fishing the same person wouldn't ask if I was on the pro Bass circuit!

Conda Douglas said...

Good point! There is something about any creative pursuit--if you're an artist, how many paintings have you sold?--it has to pay money to be real. Not true!