Dave Wirth
I just had a marvelous opportunity to share my music with a very close friend. It was a blast. It felt like it was received with warmth, and playing it for her made us feel like we connected on such a nice level, a human level. It got me thinking: Just exactly how related are creativity and connection?
For quite some time now, I've come to understand that creative pursuits and ambitions need a certain amount of isolation and time to develop. Perhaps it is best to wait and see if a song is worth playing for others. Perhaps it's best to wait until your heart feels completely settled within a painting before showing it to anyone. Perhaps your short story isn't truly done until you know that anyone else's well-meaning but ultimately distracting editorial comments have no effect on you. Perhaps the iphone application isn't done until you have bug-tested it mercilessly, and and optimized it for usability. If you like this argument, then the next logical question is: When does this self-imposed creative isolation stop? When does the sharing begin?
Sharing, to me, is connection. If I share a song with others, it means I want to connect to them and say "Hi- this is me, and thanks for hearing me talk about something important to me. By the way, thanks for not making fun of my goosebumps and shivers because I am feeling quite a bit naked right now. Is there a draft in here? Do you have an extra pair of underpants I can borrow?"
Connection is hardest for the artistic introverts out there who consider what they create to be the highest expression of themselves. If we create something, ultimately we might want to share it so we can connect with others. It doesn't have to be en-masse. It can be a friend we want to connect with, a lover we want to get closer to, or an entire audience of people we just want to bare our souls to. If you are stuck on when to release your own creative output, then maybe you should ponder this question: Who do you most want to connect with?
