Whelmed
Just like any poet, prophet or forward-thinking bringer-of-light, you, as a writer, have a big task ahead of you. Whether writing a novel, screenplay, play, essay, or updating your gardening blog — you are both shaping the future and immortalizing the past. And wielding such deity-like power is freakin’ exhausting.
When I sat down to write this article, I had no clue what the topic would be, so I started with the title. I had never heard the word “whelmed” on its own, and the little red spell-checker-underline-thingie appeared. I guess you’re either under or over, and whelment itself is a level of balance so unattainable that it wasn’t worth putting in the dictionary.
Don’t Quit Your Day Job
A teacher of mine once said:
Your legacy is the only thing you should be working on.
That’s a tall order. And I took it literally, feeling like I should just blow everything else off.
Looking a little deeper the word “working” stood out. Am I “working” to handle all the petty tasks that are most day jobs? Am I dwelling on them? Stressing out about them? Or am I just getting them handled and out of the way in as calm a manner as possible?
If the day job doesn’t entail doing what one loves (or is not a viable stepping stone to that end), and it’s taking up exorbitant amounts of time and energy — either find a job doing what you love, or find a job that will pay the bills and that doesn’t. Then “work” at doing what you are passionate about.
Maybe you’ll get frustrated while writing, painting, singing or expressing yourself in whatever creative medium floats your boat — that’s fine. Better stressing over your art than over something that will mean nothing to you — or anyone else — months from now, let alone when you’re gone.
Take an analysis of how you spend your days. Are you contributing to your story? (and stories.) Answer and go from there.
Love The Chaos
Since the chances of being whelmed are slim to none — it’s really a game of balance.
By nature, creative types are emotional, sensitive, and passionate beings. And Sensitivity always travels with her kid sister, Drama, who drives us up a wall—but is secretly the propagator of our best art.
Anxiety is the handmaiden of creativity — T.S. Eliot
Look at history’s best writers, they’re all insane to some degree — and that’s part of what makes them so damn good.
Is insanity prerequisite to be a great writer? Possibly. At least a little. A writer must be somewhat schizophrenic to invoke and portray his and her many characters; to be his own antagonist and protagonist; her own desperation and hope; their own villain and hero.
Where the balance comes in is in embracing the insanity. Wrap your arms around Drama, that little bitch, and let her know that you appreciate her. Accept the chaos in your head — as well as the chaos in your life — for the gift that it is. Without chaos, we’d have no clue what order was. In the same way that without a villain, we’d have no idea what a hero was.
In like fashion, it is our time spent in those thick, tangled fields of overwhelm, and barren, dusty acres of underwhelm, that leaves us yearning for and ever moving towards that luscious, green whelm-adjacent pasture.
A non-practicing vegan, poet, writer, lover and musician. Not in that order. Founder of oneword.com.
Actually, I remember “10 Things I Hate About You” discussing if one can be just whelmed. :D
Thank you for giving me a positive way to accept the crazy within.
@Jamie One Thing I Hate About Not Seeing That Movie may well be my next article. (As I was typing this comment, an email came in saying there’s also an elephant standing on a beach ball in that movie. So make that “Two Things…”)
Excellent post, Brian — I don’t think I can agree with the points you’ve made more!
(Apparently I feel pretty passionately about this topic — my comment kinda got out of control length-wise … but who needs control?)
Though I’ve always been set on making films, I recently started embracing painting and writing simply due to the nature of the mediums (you can accomplish things without an entire production team — and quickly, too) — embracing my natural instinct to express myself in those mediums has led me to embrace the chaos of life and just let it be.
Only when I stopped trying to control everything did I find myself as an artist.
If you’re interested in embracing the chaos, I highly recommend experimenting with abstract painting — it’s about not trying to recreate an image or control what you paint, rather, letting your emotions guide you and let chaos take care of the rest — doing this will result in much more interesting work (for chaos is impossible to recreate exactly).
As for insanity — It’s my opinion that the people spending 40+ hours a week at a job they hate (plus commute time), arguing about finances with their loved ones, and making sure their 401k is in order, all so they can save enough money for that oh-so-sought-after retirement are the ones suffering of insanity. Honestly, how many divorces are caused by financial reasons? How many people are stuck in an unhappy marriage because they think that’s how it’s supposed to be? How many people complain about their jobs?
And all just so they can retire and actually start living … at the age of 60.
That’s just my opinion though.
It’s also my opinion that you only live once, so the sooner you embrace the chaos, the sooner you’ll start living the life you want to live, which includes how you make a living, doing what makes you happy, and expressing yourself.
Like all artists, a writer is looked down upon by society — how many times have you told someone you’re a writer, only to be asked, “but what’s your real job?” Writers don’t look at the world the same way everyone else, which is why they’re deemed insane. They really felt life for what it was — some saw it as tragic, meaningless, or sad (and often resulted in the writer’s suicide), while others saw it as humorous.
But none of that matters — it only matters that you continue to express yourself, because as long as you continue to do it and continue to grow, then you may very well be able to quit your day job (physically) and dedicate both mentally and physical time on your work.
If you let who you are define what you do, only then will what you do define who you are. If you write, then you’re a writer. If you do taxes, then you’re an accountant.
If you’re like most writers, you probably feel a little guilty telling people you write, when in fact you have little proof. All the more reason to publish your work — its easier than it sounds thanks to the web.
Hop over to oneword.com to share what ever comes to mind for the word of the day in 60 seconds, or visit scribbleplay.com to contribute a short chapter to a library of ongoing stories.
Actually publishing your work will give you confidence and enable you to connect with other writers, which is who you probably feel most comfortable around anyway.
Focus on your life’s work, whether it’s accounting or writing — your life’s work is what makes you happy.
Embrace the chaos of life and let go. Stop trying to control everything — doing this as a writer means that inner perfectionist will fade away and you’ll actually start producing a lot of work.
Take it to the next level — publish your work online and in print.
Those are just one opinion though, what does everyone else think about the struggle to focus more mental time on your work while spending physical time at your job?
Do you feel comfortable telling people you’re a writer when they ask what you do?
“Like all artists, a writer is looked down upon by society…”? I see your point, and believe me, (especially as a fellow filmmaker) I agree 1000% with the “you only live once so start living” statement (my first “film” was about just that).
However, I disagree that artists are looked down upon by society. Sure there is the cliche of the starving artist, the painter who can’t get a real job, the writer who sleeps on a mattress on the floor in a one-bedroom hole-in-the-wall. But cliche aside, art is everywhere. The financial guru’s on Wall Street have perfected the art of the trade, businessmen are in the art of the sale, politicians in the art of the deal, even psychologists are in the art of the mind – like writers and filmmakers.
I recently had a conversation with my “barber” (beautician, stylist, cosmotologist?) about her “art”. She has so many different weights of combs, so many types of scissors, that I was inspired about the fact that her “art”, her trade, requires so many tools. Like a painter uses colors and brushes, a writer uses words, a filmmaker uses video (let’s face it, most things are digital now), a cosmotologist uses scissors, a lawyer uses contracts. We are all artists, and not all artists are looked down upon by society.
There is a great post going on over at FuelYourCreativity.com about “What Makes Art Art?” that touches exactly on this.
Sure, one might consider their personal contribution or style in any given niche the art of their trade, but the general line of difference sits between the two when it comes to their goal.
Money vs Expression.
Very well said.
Brian:
Great post.
Artists tend to be eccentric, that’s true. They see the world in a different light–in shades, hues and colors. No matter what their medium, let’s consider such people artists anyway.
Dylan Thomas was a notorious alcoholic; Ernest Hemmingway shot himself; Shelley and Keats died quite young; and Vincent Van Gogh lived a tortured life and only earned fame posthumously. Many artists have also been womanizers, bankrupt, drug addicts, etc.
One famous study also concluded that a disproportionate amount of people who are artists are also prone to melancholia and suicidal tendencies relative to the general population.
You know, there may be an iota of truth to that after all. Many people have also reported that artists can be quite self-centered and not the easiest of people to get along with. Some are prone to keep to themselves and become reclusive like the poet, Emily Dickinson. Cheers.
Love the post. I’m loving my madness and embracing my inner drama queen. She rocks it out when she gets going what more could a writer ask for.