I confess I’ve been watching documentaries again. This one was about Werner Herzog and his epic struggle to complete his movie Fitzcarraldo. The documentary, Burden of Dreams, concerns a movie maker on a seemingly Sisyphean task who’s main character is on a similar, nearly impossible task.
As Werner Herzog is talking about his project, after hitting the umpteenth major snag, he said the following:
“If I abandon this project, I would be a man without dreams and I don’t want to live like that.”
The above quote really struck home.
It is good to remember that dreams are a burden. They ask much of us; sometimes too much. But like Mr. Herzog you have to keep going, no matter how tough it gets. You have to nurture your projects and the dreams they come from. It doesn’t matter if success or failure await you; living without dreams would be a very bleak existence.
~ xxsjc
Have you ever though about quitting?
If so, what kept you going?
… Except in my case, when I go to sleep, it’s Dreams of Burden …
Now that I’m self-employed, it seems I don’t have as much time to give to hobbies (although the world cup may be partially responsible for that, too). Manual work is much more tiring than driving a desk and it seems that there is always something else to do at home (like housework!).
Add to that, where these time constraints take hold, it doesn’t give me a chance to come up with new ideas and one can so easily drop a hobby for other activities.
Having said that, seeing such good photography on IG still makes me want to try and take entertaining Lego photos.
A case in point, my last picture – the Soduku one – was a snatched five minute picture taken on the top of a cupboard by the window. It wasn’t my usual studio – in the loft/on the shelf – and I think that it showed.
I have not intention of giving up, but lifestyle can sometimes make it difficult to give a hobby the time that it requires and as a result makes it a potential situation where one quits, but not necessarily out of choice.
Everything you say is true Cole. I have been self employed for most of my adult life. The struggle to make ends meet is more than enough of a challenge. I only know that when I wasn’t actively creatively a little bit of me died inside and anger was quick to follow. I have been much happier now that I have found some balance.
I hope you that no matter how you decide to spend your time you will find some creative outlet and nurture your soul.
Beside I would miss your lunatic sense of humor if you left IG completely.
Shelly
I did quit writing fiction for 10 years, after I lost a contract with a major publisher and was unable to interest anyone else in the manuscript. I also had a nonfiction contract, a young child (and then another one), and an outside job. I was happy for a while because I had money coming in on a regular basis and I could say I worked at something rather than being a writer trying to sell my first novel. But by the end of that decade, I was feeling very unfulfilled and cranky. Unfortunately, because I’d been away so long, I’d lost most of my skill at writing, and I pretty much had to start over from the beginning.
I think it is common for women to take some time off from the artistic struggle when their kids are young. I know my second child led me both away and back to the arts. But it was the emptiness inside that really hurt and forded a serious reassessment. I am glad Lyn that your circumstances changed and you also came back to the arts. The world would be a less interesting place without your writing. You also bring up a very valid point regarding the artists skills – use them or loose them.