Cheerful Indifference
Writing is a solitary endeavor in seek of an audience that might never arrive. As such, it can, at times, be a lonesome pursuit. And so, it is small encouragements and companionship that sustain these efforts that often go unrecognized. As I sit at my desk window, contemplating the light mist blowing in from the Pacific Ocean, I am distracted by raucous ravens and brown creepers chirping on the fence rail in front of the camellia bush and cedar tree next door.
The praises of pals also shore me up when I need reassurance, but it is the cheerful indifference to the products of my work by Peace Poodle Ebony, Superdog Cosmo, scrub jays, squirrels, hawks and night-herons that have kept me company all the mornings I’ve spent here tapping away at my keyboard. So, at the risk of appearing odd—for we do, as someone once noted, “stare at walls until we hear voices and begin writing”—I extend my appreciation to all the creatures present, in body, mind, or spirit, who’ve guided or comforted me as I transcribed these stories, that often came to me in half-sleep, during that time between moon and sun, when only ravens speak, and real people and events from my past came alive in these words.
As I complete this collection and begin another, they remind me that, while it matters to be heard and remembered, the joy of creative expression itself is almost reward enough. Acclaim is merely icing on the cake.
[ From the acknowledgment in Life as Festival. ]
I find the people who are not odd or eccentric to be going through something a lot like being trapped. They’re always stuck composing defensive structures that stop them in their tracks. I’ve felt like that in some jobs, where the most satisfaction came from thinking, at the completion of a task, “at least I can’t be faulted”.
That last paragraph, it’s quite a good answer to a question I’ve discussed with friends: for whom and why does an artist create.
One of the most creative and gentle people I’ve ever known is an Irish woman who writes children’s stories and crafts Celtic jewelry. She was once invited to present at an installation in London, but the hypercommercial ambience literally made her ill, forcing her early withdrawal from the event.