Shut yourself in joyful creation

So much of what we do is walled into pigeonholes by societal expectations.

We start our creative journeys for the joy they bring to us and slowly realize there are many more that are doing the same thing. The way we are trained in our military based, authoritarian education, is then, to not find happiness and company in our interest sharing kins and learning from them but feeling competitive and constantly lacking in our abilities.

Its not easy, but also very important to protect our initial joy and expand on it. Disallow others to judge your connect with your crafts and passions. Don’t allow them to pitch you against a ’pro’ or anyone doing a better job. Don’t even allow anyone to make you feel better from someone they consider doing a lesser job. Just focus on the joy your craft brings you. The dialogues you have with your tools are the ones that allow you to understand yourself more deeply, and through yourself, the whole of humanity. Don’t let these voices be polluted by other’s concerns of where they should place you in their value spectrum.

Rhythm Repetition and work routines

When I’m in writing mode for a novel, I get up at 4:00 am and work for five to six hours. In the afternoon, I run for 10km or swim for 1500m (or do both), then I read a bit and listen to some music. I go to bed at 9:00 pm. I keep to this routine every day without variation. The repetition itself becomes the important thing; it’s a form of mesmerism. I mesmerize myself to reach a deeper state of mind. But to hold to such repetition for so long — six months to a year — requires a good amount of mental and physical strength. In that sense, writing a long novel is like survival training. Physical strength is as necessary as artistic sensitivity. - Haruki Murakami

Rhythm and repetition in daily life while in the act of creation allows for the input that our mind has taken to find a quiet room to be analyzed, processed and consolidated. Rhythm and repetition, shunts out novelty. Novelty threatens to overpopulate and overstimulate the brain, disallowing the mind to digest what it has swallowed. Discipline is like fasting that allows the brain to empty itself out and form nutrients. As in fasting, where a few healthy ingredients are carefully chosen to be ingested, its important that we choose healthy habits while processing our minds of its food.

Choosing to be happy

One can find happiness in the most debilitating situations and sadness in the best of situations. Most situations are neutral and our feelings of happiness or sadness a choice. We choose to be cynical at the cost of genuine happiness.

pessimism holds a special place in our hearts. Pessimism isn’t just more common than optimism. It also sounds smarter. It’s intellectually captivating, and it’s paid more attention than optimism, which is often viewed as being oblivious to risk - Morgan Housel (Psychology of Money)

Maybe we have just chosen to look smarter than be happier. Looking smarter gets us more attention and we all crave attention from time to time in various ways. We could inquire what gives us more lasting mental peace though, from time to time.