In Chapter 8, Recovering a Sense of Strength (in The Artist’s Way, by Julia Cameron), she writes.
“One of the most difficult tasks an artist must face is the primal one; Artistic Survival. All artist must learn the art of surviving loss; loss of hope, loss of face, loss of money, loss of self- belief. In addition to our many gains, we inevitably suffer these losses in an artistic career. They are the hazards of the road and, in many ways, its signposts. Artistic losses can be turned into artistic gains and strengths – but not in the isolation of the beleaguered artist’s brain.”
“ As mental-health experts are quick to point out, in order to move through loss and beyond it, we must acknowledge it and share it. Because artistic losses are seldom openly acknowledged or mourned, they become artistic scar tissue that blocks artistic growth. Deemed too painful, too silly, too humiliating, to share and so to heal, they become , instead, secret losses.”
“If artistic creations are our brainchild, artistic losses are our miscarriages. Women often suffer terribly, and privately from losing a child who doesn’t come to full term. And as artist we suffer terrible losses when the book doesn’t sell, the film doesn’t get picked up, the juried show doesn’t take our paintings, the best pot shatters, the poems are not accepted, the ankle injury sidelines us for an entire dance season.”
“We must remember that our artist is a child and that what we can handle intellectually far outstrips what we can handle emotionally. We must be alert to flag and mourn our losses.” Julia Cameron
What I love about this first page of the chapter is how we have to learn how to survive loss.
In life it seems we are so focused on other things, no one teaches us how to mourn the little things, so when the huge ones arrive, we too can use the same techniques.
And I love how what we don’t mourn becomes our scar tissue, the bumps and bruises we did not sit with and honor their presence in our lives….don’t really disappear, but ride along gathering a thick skin…scar tissue.
It will literally feel like we are tearing off the scab to now deal with loss from long past. To even sit with a self that was robbed of being so…all the little ways I failed to hold on to me.
I now am gathering to me all the parts that I gave away, and bringing them back to my center, my attention and my awareness.
I love that loss must be acknowledged and shared…for that is how we can not only see our wound but let other see it, so we all can acknowledge it, honor it…and it will then fade away.
Who knew that it was the ‘hiding’ and keeping our hurts secret that we suffer the most? It seems airing our loss is where our strengths will be found.
I know that this blog has been a great show and tell for me and I am grateful and humbled by those who read and witness it with me. This sacred place is more healing where two or more are gathered in truth. Thanks for being here with me.
I M Perfect lady 