Warped
Brain?
“Being
a writer guarantees that you will spend too much time alone—and that as a result,
your mind will begin to warp. If you are in a small workspace, your brain will
begin breathing and contracting like the sets in Dr. Caligari.”
Anne
Lamott (Bird by Bird, p.137; Anchor Books, 1994)
One of
the reasons I reread Anne Lamott several times a year is that she helps me laugh
at myself. She fearlessly points out all the ridiculousness that life offers up
and makes it hysterically funny. But everything she says is true. When you
write, or make art of any kind, you spend too much time alone. It’s not a fatal
flaw in the personalities of artists, it’s just the nature of the work. It
requires hours of immersion without interruption. Many writers work at night,
especially if they have a family that needs a little attention now and then. Some
artists maintain a separate space—a studio—away from home so that when they are
working, they are removed from the day-to-day distractions. Some folks travel
to another country where they don’t know the language for the same reason.
But as
Lamott says, your mind can begin to warp from being in an alternate reality,
which is what writing is. Immersion in any creative endeavor requires that you
leave behind familiar surroundings and people and enter the world of imagination.
Sometimes that is an historical time and place, sometimes it’s purely fantasy,
and sometimes it is an altered here and now. Even memoir requires that we make
up conversations we can’t remember precisely and describe situations from
memory, which is tainted by emotions. We must separate from our present and mentally
enter another time. Coming back to here and now is sometimes tricky business.
I have
heard that method actors encounter this problem when they “become” a character
they are playing. When the play/movie/show becomes a separate reality, that
requires you split yourself into two different personalities, how long can you
do that without losing perspective? I always wonder for instance, how a role
like Hannibal Lecter, or Nina in The Black Swan affects the actors afterward.
So, if
you are a creative type, one of the ways of staying grounded is to come back to
this reality often and stay in regular contact with your tribe. Carve out hours
for work and hours for play. In other words, balance. That’s why Anne Lamott is
good for me, and why going outside and getting my hands dirty or walking with a
friend keeps me planted on terra firma.
Many of
us have been isolated during the pandemic. People who are not artists and who
are accustomed to circulating in the human world are having a hard time with
it. Depression and anxiety are on the rise. We need to acknowledge this aspect
of pandemic and do what we can to alleviate the pain. Face-to-face technology
like Zoom and Messenger help but are no replacement for human contact. If you
are having trouble, I encourage you to call a friend, get out and take a walk,
plant some seeds, do whatever it takes to keep yourself connected to life here and
now. We are almost there. We can do this.
In
the Spirit,
Jane
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