So I have written a couple of new entries and for some reason have not posted them. As weird as this my sound one of the reasons why I haven’t posted them is because I am…well…happy.
I have this theory…and I have many theories on life in general, that no one wants to hear about people who are happy. Sounds kind of crappy but no one really wants to hear how happy and great you are doing – it only makes them feel worse about themselves. What people really want to hear about is how bad and miserable things are so that they can feel better about their own life. Okay now that sounds absolutely horrible so let me attempt to explain a few things.
Pick your favorite recording artist. Think of the some of their best songs…are they the happy songs or are they the songs about some trial or tribulation. For me it’s a no-brainer…I like sad songs…songs with a meaning and a purpose. Whether it’s about love or loss I like songs that invoke a feeling and take me to a different place.
Not ALL songs have to be sad, I don’t want to give people the wrong idea, but I think most artists do their best work when they are sad. When they feel wounded, open vulnerable, and they just let it all hang out and express what they feel in their work.
I really like Sheryl Crow. Look at her albums (showing my age here…) sorry look at her CD’s. When she was single her songs where good. When she was happily dating Lance Armstrong her songs were…well….bad. After her and lance broke up her song quality improved greatly. Pick a band or performer and you can more or less find out when they were heart broken (awesome songs) or when they were all happy and content (songs sucked). The Counting Crows, Springsteen, Mellencamp, Depeche Mode, U2…it more or less works with any artist.
As it stands with now things are good. The six of us are adapting and learning how to all get along with each other. There are issues, but for the most part things are good. We are trying out new things like a written down copy of “Da Rules” which each child signed. So now it’s funny if one of them breaks a “rule” the other kids tell them about it…
Life isn’t always how you think it will be…but it’s important to make the most out of it and right now I feel very lucky and fortunate…what is unfortunate for any followers of the blog is that you probably don’t really want to hear about all that…ha….
Hi Bill,
ReplyDeleteI have been following your blog and while I agree to an extent with what you are saying...I am totally happy to read that you are happy and can honestly say I will continue to follow your blog and continue to hope that they are happy blogs!!!!!
Colleen
I used to write poetry in college. I think my poems WERE much better when I was in a rocky relationship/going through a breakup or had some other anxiety, now that you mention it.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite Nine Inch Nails (not your music, I don't think) song to listen to after a breakup was "Something I Can Never Have." Then again most of NIN's songs are full of angst...
Depeche Mode is one of my favorite bands. I never followed their personal lives, but to your point, I guess I should be able to figure out when at least one of them was going through some crap!
It’s true, personal hardships can be a great creative well to draw from (and I agree completely re Sheryl Crow and NIN ;). Having said that, personal triumphs and discoveries can also be great creative wells to draw from. I think as long as the voice of the writer is honest, the material is always interesting and revealing.
ReplyDeleteOf course, on some level you are right – there are those who are in the “misery loves company” club. I found that out myself when I tried to do right by someone and they responded by attacking me. Some people don’t care about the truth and only want you to feel as badly as they do. The good news is, that’s usually impossible ;), so just ignore them and carry on in the truth – it works wonders and I have found many blessings on that path.
I think if you continue to write from the heart, you will always have an audience. That audience may change, but you may be surprised at how inspiring your journey will continue to be. The story isn’t ending, in many ways it’s just getting good :).