Why do we create?
"These fragments I have shored against my ruins."--T.S. Eliot
What will I leave behind? A bit of artwork, a bit of poetry, a published memoir, my daughter of course. Someone else, a philanthropist, may leave behind a building named after them. An accomplished sculptor, a poet, or a musician may leave behind a body of work. And we will all live on in the memories of those who have known us, those who have loved us, those we have taught…for as long as they live anyway.
By appreciating art and literature, we remind ourselves that we are not alone. Walt Whitman, in Song of Myself, wrote this about our aloneness…
Not I, nor anyone else can travel that road for you.
You must travel it yourself.It is not far, it is within reach.
Perhaps you have been on it since you were born and did not know,
Perhaps it is everywhere on water and on land.
We create, in part, to ward off loneliness. It is through language, both in reading and in writing, that I most often seek connection. Each of us is alone in that we are unique; none of us can ever fully share who we are. We can make efforts to tell our truth, but everyone will hear our stories through the filter of their own experiences. Still, this sharing of ourselves through our creations (and our observing of others through our appreciation of their offerings) brings us closer to each other, lessens our loneliness, enriches our lives.
I write to share my journey, what I have struggled with and what I have learned. I read to feel connected to others who are attempting to share their journeys. What do you do to feel connected to others? What do you create? What will you leave behind?