Throughout the timeline of history, there have been so many world-famous individuals who suffered from depression. A few examples to mention are Franz Kafka, Vincent Van Gogh, Robert Schumann, Ludwig van Beethoven, Peter Tchaikovsky, John Lennon, Edgar Allan Poe, Mark Twain, Georgia O’Keefe, Abraham Lincoln, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Charles Darwin, Virginia Woolf, Winston Churchill, William James, Sören Kierkegaard and Sylvia Plath (Whybrow et al., 1984). The strong intertwined relationship between depression and creativity is apparent. Aristotle wrote, “Why is it that all men who are outstanding in philosophy, poetry, or the arts are melancholic and some to such an extent that they are infected by the disease arising from the black bile?” He stated that among them also were Plato and Socrates (Goodwin, Jamison, 2007). Those countless examples of the lives of creative individuals demonstrate that depression can elicit inspiration, where art becomes a form of expression of intense feelings. One of the distinct characteristics of outstanding artists is their ability to work hard for many hours, in addition to the bursting feelings of inspiration which provide rich material for art (Roe, 1952).
“The graveyard is the richest place on earth because it is here that you will find all the hopes and dreams that were never fulfilled, the books that were never written, the songs that were never sung, the inventions that were never shared, the cures that were never discovered, all because someone was too afraid to take that first step, keep with the problem, or determined to carry out their dream.”
When we suppress our desires, then it leads to suppressed feelings, which are crying out loud to be heard, recognized, and acknowledged. Depression is a complex feeling, which needs to be understood at the level of the spirit and the soul verses in the context of white or black thinking, through the lens of the old paradigm of duality – bad or good. Perhaps this may explain why inspiration (being in-spirit) is creative energy which famous artists not only were able to understand but also to employ into a form of creativity. When emotional pain is transformed through spiritual insights and intrinsic values, this leads to a greater meaning of one’s own potential in life, including a desire for contributions to society. In that sense, human life is not a personal life, but a gift that makes a difference for others. We are all Oneness, connected energetically, either through art, the Internet, personal interactions, music, travel, or in other words, through the breath of life, where each of us shares a personal life story with others.
- Which of your ideas or gifts are trying to emerge?
- If you are at the end of your life and you look back, which of your decisions are you proud of? What would you regret about?
- What are those things or activities you always wanted to do, but suspended because of a lack of time?
- Do you believe that you are an artist of your own masterpiece called life?
- Is your life white and black, or are you able to see a rainbow?