Insane Creativity or Creative Insanity – That is the Question

As promised, I am back with my next post, creativity and insanity. Umm…my favorite topic. Yes, I can see you frowning. I can, in fact see a lot of you frowning. There she goes again, you must be thinking. But, hey, a promise is a promise. I promised to deliver and here I am sitting before my computer, in my workout clothes (this post is my excuse for not hitting the floor for push up lol), with a mug of steaming coffee and a lot of inspiration (which I have to chase driving my 10 second car in 5^th gear every time I sit to write). Pretty sad, you know. Sad I cannot stay inspired. Sad, inspiration is for the real writers only. Sad that I don’t know how does it feel like to be really inspired to write. The write mood some of my writer friends say. Anyway, I am drifting from the topic.

So, insanity is creativity. Or, creativity is insanity. Nope, please don’t think we are like the lunatics who will infect you by biting their teeth into your flesh. But, a touch of insanity looms beneath the surface of every creative mind.

Aristotle had said that - No great mind has ever existed without a touch of madness.

This we all will back, grinning.

People, time and again look at us bewildered and ask – are you crazy. They all are, I must admit wonderfully tolerant. They all forgive everything, but genius. Yes, that’s a deliberate theft from Oscar Wilde’s treasure chest. But, it’s true. When they call us crazy, they don’t it with affection. They do with sarcasm combined with amusement. So, amused sarcasm we get each time we try to express ourselves. But, the question might arise here – what makes creative people insane? You type creativity and insanity together in Google and you will find a flood of questions rather than answers and information.

Is creativity interlinked with insanity? Do they need to be crazy? And you will get to see images of Virginia Wolfe, Edger Allan Poe, Robin William and many others who had the courage to be different.

So, what makes creative people appear to be crazy to the world? This question has nudged my mind each time I have been called insane. And trust me when I say this I have been called crazy a lot of time by people who cannot describe the beauty of the moon with their eyes wide open. Sad yet true.

But, maybe we should not blame them for branding us as insane. Maybe it is in our body language or in the way we present ourselves. No one sane person will write what I am writing right now. This is one of the arguments which I have no counter evidence to attack. Here, I plead guilty. And there are other instances, which I cannot deny, make creative people look crazy.

The disclaimer is – I am not judging the creative minds. I am not belittling anyone. I am expressing my opinion and my observation. You might beg to differ. And you have the right to disagree with me. In fact that’s my first point.

Whenever people agree with me I always feel I must be wrong. Another Oscar Wilde for you all to admire. But, he has rightfully expressed what most of us feel. If people agree with us, how are we different? And frankly, people don’t agree with us. They in fact oppose us. Some violently, some timidly, some reluctantly. But, they oppose. And we enjoy the opposition.

The Picture of Dorian Gray has earned strong antagonism from the critiques. Its symbolism, especially the homosexual tone of the narration had forced people to stand up and try to destroy the creator. Sadly, in this case they succeeded. The critiques – the epitome of sanity stood united to save the world.

More than hundred years had passed since the publication of the novel. Yet, it is considered to be one of the most beautifully written classics. I cannot agree more. The skill, the craft and the wits of the creator attract nothing but awe. But the critiques – we don’t even know the names of the people who took Wilde to trial. Should I be laughing? Nah, I am not laughing.

Fall seven times and stand up eight. This is the sad part. Creative people fall, too many times to keep a scorecard. They get rejected. They get humiliated. They stand alone. They lose themselves. They doubt themselves. In the end, they only have their reflections left who believe in them. But, they keep going. They keep moving. They keep doing it, despite failure. Jack Ma did. He kept pushing and pushing until his story of failure became the motivational story for many struggling souls.

Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, the just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while – Steve Jobs. This might be a strong reason. Creativity cannot be explained. Ask Van Gough how he painted Starry Night. Ask Jack London how he created White Fang. Ask Steve Jobs how he came up with ideas to change the world. They will all tell you one thing – I don’t know. They are right. They don’t know. Ideas come. Ideas form. How? Impossible to say. It is insanity to people who cannot come up with ideas.

We find sanity horribly boring. Yes, we do. Being sane all the time means being rigid. I come across so many such people every day, the sane ones, who make me look up and say a prayer of gratitude that I am born with the touch of insanity. No one is more dangerously insane than one who is sane all the time: he is like a steel bridge without flexibility, and the order of his life is rigid and brittle.” – Alan Watts. They don’t know how to dream. And when they dream, they do with reluctance, like they gotta pay big buck for big dreams. Poor soul, I find myself thinking when I met someone like this.

They don’t know what it feels like to set free. They don’t know what it feels like to paint images on the surface of empty sky. They don’t know half the things life has to offer. They don’t give the child inside a chance to come out.

They grow up – it’s their tragedy. We never do – it’s ours.

Still frowning? Well, I haven’t even gotten started. Next I am planning to explore another one of my favorite topics – qualification. Stay tuned to be overwhelmed guys.

Coffee, Notebooks and Pens

Um, yeah, these three are what most writers survive on. There are other necessities as well. Some romantic notions about addictions and nonsense like alcohol or grass. We will talk about it later, in another post. But, right now, it’s coffee, notebook and pen time.

How many vices do you have? What do you absolutely need to set your creativity free? What do you sip while writing?

Yesterday, I sat before the computer with a large bowl of ice cream. I thought I would pamper myself. It’s been long, you know, I paid any attention to myself. A lie. Anyway. I am born with genetic defects and by now everyone who knows me agrees on this. United in agreement. Separated in disagreement. That did not come out too well, did that? Anyway.

Ok, so ice cream. Sadly the bowl full of creamy chocolate fudge did not help me do anything out of ordinary. And it got me thinking. Lately, everything gets me thinking. Curious, don’t you think so? No one would call me a philosopher. I am not. I am rather a twisted personality who speaks her mind out. Have lost a lot of friends that way. But, who cares? You cannot take my truth, you don’t deserve my lies.

Hey lies take a lot of hard work. You gotta think it. You gotta test drive it. You gotta deliver it in proper tone and word. Hard, hard work. Not for everyone lol.

Whatever.

So, when ice cream failed. Thank God it did. Or, else I would have kept gobbling on ice cream only. What that would have done to my weight loss plan, I only shiver to imagine. But, it failed. When it did, I brewed a mug full of strong coffee and came back to writing. And viola, words came pouring out. I finished a very crucial part of my current project.

 

Coffee is a great vice of mine. I need it when I am writing. To be frank I need a lot of it. Mug after mug disappear when my fingers are flying on the keyboard. And I need it strong though I prefer it with milk and sugar. It is like fuel that keeps me going. Without coffee I find myself going adrift. You might have this thing for tea. But, coffee and writing have some special bonding, like eyes and sight or some other crap like that. So much for metaphor.

Ah…notebooks. This is my favorite vice. I buy notebooks like my life depends on it. I need to have a notebook at my fingertip does not matter where I am. Currently, I am carrying a soft cover, red notebook with ruled pages. It is portable and easy to handle. This is my self-improvement journal. Here I plan. I praise myself for sticking to plans. And bash myself if I fail to do it. It works.

I have a creative journal. This one is for story and title prompts. There is a reading journal. Here I review the books I read. You will find an abundance of John Grisham and John Sandford book review here. There is a project journal. This I use to record information about my ongoing projects. I have an idea journal which I use for recording blog post ideas. I also keep a journal for recording positive thought. There is one journal a brown hard covered one. It is expensive. I bought it on a whim (that I do a lot). This is the blank journal. Meaning, I cannot bring myself to use it. It sits beside the computer and stares at me. And I stare back.

Pens? Yeah, I have a lot of pens, ink pen, gel pen, ball points, fountain pens (though I cannot use them), use and throw and many other that I cannot use. But, every time I end up using pencil. I think fast and I need a pen that can match the speed of my mind. This is the reason, I am more comfortable with the keyboards.  

Think I am crazy? Well, maybe a little. A lot in fact. Then again you gotta be crazy to be creative. There is no creativity without insanity. This is another topic worth writing about. And surely, I would explore it next.

Till then…be yourself.  

Price of Tear Drops Huh – Now I Have Heard Everything…

Never make women cry…There is nothing more expensive than a female tear. When a single drop comes out, it first mixes with Loreal eyeliner (Rs 600)and Dior mascara (Rs 2500)…Then when it rolls down the cheek, it mixes with D&G blusher (Rs 2500)…& finally when it touches the lips, it gets mixed with Maybelline lipstick (Rs 850)…This means that a single drop is ruining Rs 6000. Please don’t make them cry guys…It would be difficult to afford it…Issued in public interest. Happy women’s day.

Quite a way of wishing a woman Happy Women’s day. Don’t you think? Needless to say it has come from a guy. And needless to say each morning I get at least one message from the same guy which belittle women.

Nope, don’t think that I am pissed. I am not. What I know and this poor soul does not is that – you are what you see in others.

True some women really apply makeup that make it hard to recognize their real face. But, what about those who don’t wear makeup. What about the women who are not afraid to show their real face to the world? How about their tear drops? How much their tear drops will cost? A penny? A dime? One paisa?

Just wondering, you know.

I have no aversion towards anyone or anything. Life has taught me to accept. But, life has taught me to ask questions as well. I have learnt to fight for my own pride and honor. And to be frank – this is disrespecting.

Sadly, you are not disrespecting us – the women, buddy. You are disrespecting your own self.

In seven months, you will stand hands linked together in front of either Goddess Durga or Kali. God must be laughing out loud somewhere in the Heaven at the joke. I would have laughed too, had I created you.  

I am not a feminist. I don’t follow any such thing. I am just a simple being, trying to make a living with honesty. I have more male friends than female ones. But, one thing is common in my friends they know how to respect.

Don’t respect me. I don’t need yours. I have enough for my own self. And your opinion of me is just that – an opinion. But, please it’s a request - don’t send me messages which will make Hodor look like Tyrion Lannister. I have better things to read.

Thanks for reading this till the end. I just could not resist the temptation of getting some words down on paper. The Women’s Day wish was too much. Now, my soul is at peace.