I have always been struck by the phrase “How ya gonna keep ‘em down on the farm after they have seen Paree?”. It was a phrase I think I have always known. It has lived in my unconscious and it may be proof of Jung’s theory of the Collective Unconscious, as I don’t ever remember learning it—it was just always there. It would come to mind whenever someone had a life event that was so big and paradigm blowing that it would leave me wondering how they could possibly return to their ordinary life.
I didn’t know until I Googled the phrase that it was actually a song from 1919. I listened to the song on Youtube and as I listened to the tune I found it altogether too sprightly and spirited for the subject matter. This is a song that Billy Holiday or Morrissey really could have done justice to. It is a song about men who had lived a very small life on the farm—maybe they had never left their town. Maybe they never made it to the county fair. They had never seen another landscape, heard another language or eaten a food that wasn’t grown on their farm—and then they want off to war. They were 1900′s Idaho Odysseuses, reluctant heroes who left their farm-girl Penelopes behind to quilt and can things and care for their children and work on the farms while the uniformed Odysseus went away.
These men left their coastless communities and got on boats and fought battles that they might not have fully understood and faced death and survived it and then they heard the siren song of “How ya gonna keep ‘em down on the farm after they have seen Paris?”. I mean, they really faced death, there were no long range weapons ( at least that is what I think I remember hearing in history class or when He-weasel was watching the History channel). WWI was up close and personal and death was highly likely. So, as Freud and all good movie makers know, eros and thanatos go hand in hand. These guys who had lived, up until truly facing death, a very small life. By facing death they got a taste for life, for wine, women, song and all of it was heightened by the awareness of death. How on earth did they go back to the farm? Really, how?
Something about imagining a man who fought a war and almost died and then who spent a week or two in Paris and who tasted the good life and then went back to the farm, it makes me want to taste the food he grew in his fields when he returned home—and it makes me want to cry. I imagine that there were metaphorical tears that watered his crops even if he stoically denied any grief and sublimated his longing for a bigger life into creating a life for his family. I want to taste this man’s potatoes or corn. I don’t imagine that the food tasted any better for his longing or loss or sacrifice. But I feel sure that if I was to chew slowly and mindfully I could taste the difference. Maybe not, maybe I just want to believe that I could.
Having spent five fantastic days in NYC the phrase “How ya gonna keep ‘em down on the farm after they have seen Paree?” came to mind. It was a phrase that whispered at first and as the days passed it grew louder and louder, like a tea kettle that demands to be heard. It first came to mind when I walked down Lexington Avenue and I found myself delightfully overwhelmed by a sea of stimulus. As I sat back in a yellow cab in which the driver had an alternative understanding of the meaning of red lights. He saw them as a kind of suggestion that could be ignored if he blew his horn with enough frequency and intensity—as we jerkily moved through the rules of the road I felt a kind of quickening that I’ve never felt when I sit behind the wheel in L.A.’s silent and unmoving traffic.
I maneuvered my way around a manic stream of energy with nameless others—each of them going somewhere-each of them wanting something. Each of them unstopped by traffic and chaos and horns and hollers—-each of them seeming more noble than any King Salmon attempting to go upstream to spawn. Their faces and legs and swinging arms and determined stride all seemed to say, “I will not be stopped”. Each step forward made me want to take another. As I walked among them I too said to myself, “I will not be stopped”.
I wish I had some pictures to show you of my Virginia Wolf room, aka my office, back when I was working on my thesis—it was an absolute mess. Stacks and stacks of books that looked like that they had been carefully arranged by a hurricane. There were papers and notebooks and more piles and a wall that looked like a post modern art instillation: “Post it notes: a Hegemony of Self in Space and Time Existing in a Capitalistic/ Consumeristic Culture”. It was the kind of mess that might qualify me for a reality show in which some highly organized person with a minivan full of files, boxes and other assorted paraphernalia intended to turn me into a person who always had a loaded labeling gun in her holster. The host and her handy team would transform my unruly mess into a room that could be featured in Real Simple magazine.
One day He-weasel came into my office and I became aware of myself in his gaze and how the room was a representation of my self. I had the experience that Jean Paul Sartre was forever writing about, “By the mere appearance of the Other, I am put in the position of passing judgment on myself as on an object, for it is as an object that I appear to the Other” (Sartre 1956). I didn’t just see him. I saw him seeing me and through his gaze I saw myself—and I didn’t like what I saw. I began to apologize. I started to make excuses and sharing plans on how I was just going to start cleaning up. Then He-weasel, who is a big fan of order, said one of the most liberating things someone has ever said to me, “You need chaos to create. Don’t clean up. You need this. There is an order in this for you. Without this mess you can’t create.” I think I sat there for a moment stunned. I no longer saw myself as an object. His gaze was of the “I-Thou” variety and from that moment on I saw myself differently. There was a permission, an invitation and an appreciation for the chaotic. I no longer needed to be anything other than I what I was.
In Carolyn See’s wonderful book Making a Literary Life she has a chapter about the importance of writers going to NYC. It is the center of the literary world and Ms. See believes that this trip to Publishing Mecca is important for every writer. She wants you to make appointments and make plans before you go. She believes that by going and meeting and greeting and seeing behind the curtain of the literary world that it will no longer feel so elusive and that, perhaps, when you go back to the farm you will forever feel a sense of connection with the literary world—as you have been there and done that and it is no longer a myth but now a real place that you have participated in. I think all of Carolyn’s advice is good. If I had thought ahead or reread her book in the last couple of months I would have likely gone with an agenda. I instead went to see a friend and I had little in the way of plans. Still, even without following her advice, I feel changed by the experience. I brought back with me not just memories or an “I LOVE NYC” coffee cup but also a greater appreciation for chaos. In the chaos of the city, I discovered that same feeling of freedom I felt when He-weasel named chaos as the source of my creation. That is not the kind of insight one can plan for.
Coming back to Valencia I feel some sense of how the hero felt when he returned to his ordinary life. I am struck by the quiet and the empty streets and how there are no horns or taxis or any sense of urgency. No one is walking the streets. Everything is orderly and clean and master planned. When I walk Lily I am alone on the streets. I feel like a lone aberrat
ion. As all the cars zoom pass me I imagine they notice and remark to themselves, “Look, there is a woman walking.” In Valencia I stand out. In NYC I disappear.
Valencia is as is it was before I left, but in leaving it I feel as if I see it differently—and strangely I feel a greater understanding of what this place has given me. Now that I am back on the “farm” after being in the “Bright lights, Big City” of NYC, I see how choosing to live in a place in which I don’t feel alive has been purposeful. I will admit that I feel that being in Valencia has been important both personally and creatively in ways that I can’t fully articulate. This city of little boxes on the hillside and malls and master-planned communities has taught me that I can create in quiet and that I can create when I am in despair, and I am glad to know that. Valencia has taught me that I can write even when in a box, in order and without much mess. Chaos is not the only place that inspires creativity, after all there is a reason that University of Iowa has the number one writing program in the country—people are also inspired by the openness and endless potential of the plains.
This series, Writing in Valencia, is about making a literary life no matter where you live. I feel grateful that being here in Valencia, and out of my element, has taught me that I am not dependent on a certain environment to write. That said, I do believe that each of us have an octave we resonate to more than others. My octave is in the key of chaos.
So, do you need calm and quiet and mountain cabins to create in? Or do you create out of chaos? I would love to hear about what it is that inspires creation for you and if you are okay with it? Or do you tend to fight the way that works for you?
If you have missed any of the Writing in Valencia series you can find all of the series
Fabulous post. I'm sure lots of them were just grateful to be back after the vile stench of death.
But yes chaos NYC and creativity. I need to go into the chaos to pull in and breathe the creativity but then I like quiet and solitude to write. I always have a notebook with me to write down observations, capture moments and I do think NYC is the best place for stimulation. The energy is immense.
I bet you had a fun week – I only wish I'd been there too. xx
deadlines….people….music….silence…calm…..anything at all in fact as long as it is life. Surrounding me so I can feel it, breathe it smell it and live it second by second and then, on that glorious occasion when the words used just be there as though always meant to be. Then I would create! Alas the memory fails the words fly and now I just play…but it is still fun. I am enjoying your work.
What a beautiful post!
Right now, where I sit, I have piles of books on my right, stacked on the windowsill, causing much consternation among the cats. And another pile on the floor. Bits of paper with notes on them. Files all over my laptop desktop. All in anticipation of a piece that I want to write and may never get written. Chaos is my middle name.
3 1/2 years ago… the chaos of the city was not only my play ground, But my creative inspiration!!!
I'm still getting use to the countryside… and in day to day living it is truly what I need. As I continue to move forward in mending … I'm starting to appreciate nature as a creative canvas just waiting for words to fill my imagination.
As I attempt to enter the literary world … perhaps the calm and peacefullness of the countryside, allows me to think more and be creative. A blessing in the midst of evrything, perhaps. They say the creator gives us not what we want – But we truly need, to grow and evolve.
I'm going to look up Carolyn See's book, thank you for sharing it.
Thank you for such an amazing post!!! I look forward to reading your words…
Hmmm. Place is less important to me than true mental solitude–no family members making demands so I can focus on my own thoughts. NYC is tremendously energizing, though!
Your great post reminded me of the opening of Weeds http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEvEEcc9iC8&feature;=related
(forgive me if you've already reference that – I'm a newbie to your blog) and that made me smile.
I love the energy of NYC – the best is the time around Christmas with the hustle bustle of the shoppers and holiday decorated storefronts. Could I sit on the corner and write? Uh, no. But, it's definitely inspiring for when I'm in a calm and quiet place.
Make Do: Like you, I need the chaos to inspire and then the quiet to actually write. Being in NYC feels like being plugged in to an amazing bolt of creative energy. It almost makes me believe in Vortexes.
Julienne: Thank you so much for sharing your process. Creating is great but so is play!
Cheryl: Soooo great to see you here. Thank you! I am so glad you enjoyed. Happy to see know another chaos creator. All this obsession with order and organization can be deadly and sterile. A little mess is a great way to discover a germ of an idea!
High-heeled: Thanks so much for your kind words! ANd I definitely recommend Carolyn's book( I have written a lot about it in previous WIV pieces).
I think it is very interesting for those of us who have lived in the country and the city to see how environment changes our process. It sounds like both have been meaningful for you.
Miss Cavendish: So for you it is mostly about solitude? Interesting. For me I can write with a room full of people, the TV on and Lily barking. I think that is one of the gifts of living in 750 sq. feet—it taught me that there will ALWAYS be distractions.
Brilliant post!
Being the mental magpie that I am, I find that it's harder to write when I'm surrounded by stimulation, but I need *some* stimulation to give my head something to write about. Balance, it's always about balance, I guess.
Daria: Yes! I have referenced Weeds. Weeds was shot where I live. I live in Agresta(aka Valencia). I love that song. I sing it often as I drive into Valencia. Thanks for sharing the video. It is a GREAT one!
Christmas is a great time in NYC. Love it! And like you I need the quiet to write in after I receive the inspiration of the chaos.
Deja Pseu: Thank you!
I do think there are times when I need less chaos. I couldn't function now as I did when I was writing my thesis. It was a year project and I think I needed a nest to birth the project in. If I had that kind of mess today I would spend the day cleaning before starting to write.
Hmmmm…. you said "choosing…" to live somewhere. But did you really get to choose? We all have to make a living and sometimes end up living somewhere just for a job.
Wendy: I suppose I could have insisted on a place closer to L.A. but I settled on Valencia for ease for He-weasel ( and maybe for other unconscious reasons).
There's a lot to mull over here in this post…WOW!
I believe that you could write anywhere…even in the chaos of your former office.
Paris, NYC, Valencia…all conspire to inspire your writing…it's your gift.
hostess of the humble bungalow : Thanks, lovely you!!I always feel the impulse to apologize for how long my posts are. But I don't want to split a multi-part series into smaller parts or this series would NEVER end.;-)
If I had my choice I would prefer to write in Paris or NYC or even Valencia, Spain. But, yeah, I am going to keep writing wherever I am. I can't help myself.
As I was reading your lovely post, you know, the part about the office, I started seeing myself through the eyes of everyone that walks in, and fortunately, I came down to a few lines underneath when he-weasel said it was OK..whew! My only consolation usually is that my pile of mess is one-tenth of my husband's pile of mess, and he truly thrives in that chaos. I cannot say that I do but perhaps to some extent because it just happens around me. I have attributed it to entropy.
Creating in quiet or chaos! I think I need both, need to be in touch with my scientific community and through that interaction new ideas are formed but most of my creativity, the good one, really comes from meditation and thinking in my head, posing questions and answering them!
I love how the hurricane had neatly ordered books in your office. A long while ago I visited NYC and loved it and then I loved leaving it too! My cousin who lives in Manhattan cannot stand CA! Ha ha!
Loved the post as I always do!
xoxoxx
I have never been to NYC. Or the States, actually. I have been to Canada but that is it.
Often I feel like I need to travel more to be able to write better. I need to experience chaos and order, mountains and seas, plains and cities so that I can have all these experiences inside me to write down. But then I think of Charlotte Bronte who I doubt ever left the UK, yet she managed to create beautiful fantasy worlds…
Oops, I kind of went off track from your question. I suppose I don't really know the answer yet. Right now I am revising and working in chaos (i.e. my desk and floor are a complete mess) and to be honest I would love for someone to come in and organise everything for me and make it neat and tidy. xx
I eagerly await your next post about milking cows and egg-laying chickens.
A catalyst. Usually music, though a familiar scent works as well, but there has to be a jumpstart. It's difficult to start writing out of the cold.
You are amazing…. another wonderful post….
I get ideas when I'm out…then when I get back home? They all go away…. I lose all motivation. I guess it's the obligations of every day, but I get lost in them rather than in my inspirations…. Sad, but true…and then I say to myself "What are you waiting for?" and I don't know the answer to that either….. But you, my dear, are inspiring!
Wonderful post, LBR, and if I weren't right now rushing to leave my farm (tiny island accessible only by passenger-only ferry) for Paree (Montreal makes a half-decent stand-in), I'd try harder to give you a decent response. But I'd say I thrive on a balance of both — I absolutely have to have quiet time all to myself to get my writing done, but I don't know how long I could feel creative without the stimulus of a city.
I'd have to say both. Too much quiet and order is stifling and sterile to me. I don't exactly love order, but too much clutter is not good either and I love the energy of New York as well as the peace and entirely different energy of where I live.
I can relate to what Miss Cavendish wrote. I think I do need mental solitude; but mental solitude can exist even in chaos or surrounded by people. I can write or create in public, but I need a certain kind of solitude to create. It is not an absence of people but an absence of expectation I think.
It is strange, when we met I thought "how much I miss New York" and thought of the part of me that would love to live there, and indeed could do just that. But when I returned home I saw the beauty and strength I draw from where I live with new eyes, and realize how much I love it here as well. I
'You need chaos to create' I love that! I'll have to place that statement on my inspiration board. To get create, I have books at all times to list ideas but I've recently started a inspiration board to hold pictures, sayings or articles that really inspire me.
I'm definitely not a novel writer (my daughter just finished one – ready for hyptothetic publication), but I would not imagine that there is a particular place for writing, the big city (NYC, Paree…), the lonesome place on the countryside (in Connecticut, Tuscany…), at Valencia…; the issue is to have the talent, the imagination and the wish or absolute need to write – and if possible a corner of calm and the time?
It's just as well I don't harbor ambitions to write because I love reading too much and know my limits. Nevertheless, depending on the project I have a tendency to create a growing chaos of colors, brushes, fabrics, papers and whatever around me. Whether it's watercolors or silks I have to mix and test colors and then cut out tiny dried pieces to see how they look against one another or the main piece. Ideas for other works spin out of the chaos so I'm also drawing and doing side color runs so I can capture fragments before the inspiration dissipates. It's how I've always worked but with limited space a constant, when a given painting is done I tidy everything away so I can begin afresh.
This is such a wonderful series of thoughts and impressions. You are a marvel.
this is such a fabulous post in so many ways, i could really feel how it felt to jostle my way down lexington and your feelings about the men who went to war is something i never thought about quite like that and my gfather fought in europe-i don't even know where- he never spoke of it but when he returned, i wonder about what he felt when he did, after reading this…
but it was this:
"Then He-weasel, who is a big fan of order, said one of the most liberating things someone has ever said to me, "You need chaos to create. Don't clean up. You need this. There is an order in this for you. Without this mess you can't create."
these words struck the deepest chord and made me shed a sweet tear….you are blessed with a knowing, loving man of both your wants and your needs and who you really are–there is no greater blessing than this, to be loved so well as you are, as he loves you. again, it makes me weep with happiness for you both.
xoxo-for him too
I felt the same way when I got home form New York. So much of everything there, it's easy to get lost in it and forget about the little things that usually occupy your mind. Then again I'm speaking as a visitor. If I lived there…! definitely Soho, Chelsea or around that area. Feels more manageable down there.
To create though…I need both. Sometimes, when my mind is too preoccupied I need the chaos of a cafe or other busy place. But when I'm directly in the stream of creativity I prefer the calm privacy of my apartment.
xoxo
I love this post! I need to get back into my own creative space, this has inspired me to look a little harder for it!
I've been singing 'Little Boxes' all day in my head. Darnit! And, it is especially ironic that I was out your way today for a funeral.
I need to have something else important to do, so the writing becomes a way of procrastinating instead of another obligation. So while finals at the same time as finishing my thesis is total madness, I have gotten more done this week than in a month!
I really like the Sartre quote.
Brilliant post! Love the series, but this particular one I like the best.
After my first trip to NYC, during which I stayed two weeks with a friend who lived there, I returned home to Silverton, Oregon. Feeling really let down I made an appointment to have some "prizms
colored into my hair. The two hairdressers there looked at one another, and mine said, "She even looks different than before she went there."
My mother used to sing this song to me when I was a little girl. Love it.
Ah NYC…visited lots, loved it initially, then grew to dislike it. The energy of the city is definitely palpable, and you captured it beautifully.
For me, it's not so much environment as just having space and time to myself, alone with my thoughts. Growing up, my family and I lived in cramped quarters for a while, so the bathroom became my escape, oddly. Then my room became my sanctuary, but now it's just being able to be alone with myself, like in the car, that leads to creativity. Sometimes dreams spur creativity, too (one dream I clearly remember was that I was a contestant on "Project Runway"). Time, space, and place is what you make of it, in my opinion.
When I was younger I didn't feel a need for solitude. Now though, I wake up extra early or stay up past everyone else to have that time for myself where I can think and write uninterrupted. However, when it comes to living somewhere, I prefer the city. I really think I would die of boredom anywhere else.
MrsLittleJeans: I bet your presence is the calm in the chaos. And I know that when I had kitties they used to help hold down the mess. All of that said, both quiet and chaos are important and I think that an over emphasis on order can kill creativity.
pretty face: When I first decided to be a "writer" I decided I needed to travel to have experiences to write about. the funny things is how seldom I am ever drawn to write about those experiences. I tend to write about my past and present in the setting of ordinary life. But I am stirred to see things differently by traveling.
Like you, in the midst of my thesis I would have loved someone to come in and cleaned up my hot mess of an office. But I wonder if they had if I would have been as easily been able to create.
Randal Graves: LOL! I do have bloggy friends who are gentlewomen farmers. I can give your their links. This weasel ain't no farmer.
I'm curious about what scents trigger your brilliant mind. Do tell.
Giggle:
You are sweet. thank you!! Get a notebook to take with you out in the world. If that is where inspiration strikes then be prepared for it. Don't let it slip away.:-)
materfamilias : You are so very lucky to have access to both worlds. I really envy you your island and then access to Vancouver. You really could write a post about this topic…or even a book. It must be so nice to have both. Happy travels to Paree!
Mardel: You too are lucky to have access to both. You are just a train ride away from NYC and then you get to come home and be surrounded by all that beauty. Really, the best of both worlds.
And, I can write with others around( the gift of the 750 sq. foot condo) and yet I NEED time alone. Too much time with others and I am exhausted and I have no idea what I think or feel. Time and space alone gives me a sense of self that is necessary to write. But when I am actually writing I could write with a house full of people.
CameronPoe2409 : He-weasel will be delighted to hear that his line is on your inspiration board. I do think that what is helpful about that saying is that it helps me see that when my life is kind of chaotic and not smooth and easy and well ordered that it is likely a time that will inspire the birth of something new. It helps to hold that.
Peter: I think that every writer has in their mind a place where they imagine writing would come more easily and that they would be more inspired than where they are now. The truth is that you take yourself with you and if you aren't writing in Detroit you aren't going to write in Tuscany. It took me some time to learn that lesson. I write everywhere now. I am no longer waiting for the perfect place. But now that I can write everywhere I can't help but notice what environs really get my juices going.
And a big congrats to your daughter!!! Finishing a novel is a HUGE accomplishment and one I will likely never manage.
susan: I LOVE that you and I were both on the same page/canvas—both of us inspired by chaos. I love a good synchronicity. Happy accidents do come out of the chaos of creativity. Making space for that mess and then being able to clean up and start over seems the best kind of balance to me.
Thank you, every kind thing you say about me I feel double towards you. Your creativity astounds me.
linda: It had to change the men who went away to war. It makes me curious to read about the migration to cities after WWs. I am fascinated by the psychology of the returning hero.
You, my friend, have a tender and generous heart. I do know how lucky I am to have him really see me. Now hear me, there are times he is challenged by my chaos. There are times he wishes I was less chaotic–I can feel it. But in all our years together I can't remember him ever complaining about it. That is pretty great. I am lucky.
Cheryl: It is nice how all the noise quiets my mind. I kind of like that. Too much quiet and my mind can get loud. I can't imagine how loud it would get if I ever went on a silent retreat.;-)
SF has plenty of inspiring places. But there is no better place to create, once inspiration strikes, than the quiet that comes in a room of one's own.
First of all… what's wrong with me? My mind went straight to the gutter when I read, "I want to taste that man's potatoes."
Seond, I understand what you're saying about NYC. I think it all the time, but sort of an opposite way since I live here. I guess I think, "how could I move/live anywhere else?" I guess I'm 'staying in Paris' so to speak.
Lastly, you totally stand out in NYC! You are not just some chick that blends into the crowd! You are marvelous.
Oh… P.S. I want to visit Valencia!
Wondering K: I am delighted that you feel inspired. LOVE that!!! Find your space.:-)
Daria: Not to be morbid but I do find the houses in Valencia, in their rows and sameness, to remind me of cemeteries. "little boxes all the same". All that order and sameness is lifeless and depressing, at least to my mind.
Andromeda : I don't think I have ever used writing as a way to procrastinate. It's a good way to procrastinate. My means of procrastination are not as productive and can involve watching three episodes of The Golden Girls.If you keep procrastinating think how quick you will have your thesis done!:-)
Lydia: Thank you! Is it wrong for me to say that this one is my favorite too? It sure was a long time between WIV posts. I am hoping it won't be so long before the next one.
That is fantastic that others could *see* how NY affected you. I think that you wanted Prisms in your hair said that you cam back with more dimensions. Don't you think?
I love that your mother sang you that song. Very sweet.
Robo: Thank you! And thank you for sharing what inspires you.
There is definitely something wonderful about very small spaces for creativity. Cars, showers, and bathrooms often inspire me. Dreams are DEFINITELY a source of creativity for me too. I LOVE your Project Runway dream. I would love
Angie: I too am a morning person. I get up early as a way of having undisturbed writing time. The quiet is so important—-just as important as the chaos. Too much quiet and I have no inspiration. Too much chaos and there is no time or space for reflection.
stacy:LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes, corn and potatoes are TERRIBLY Freudian. But I assure you I don't, as a rule, enjoy "tasting potatoes"(wink-wink;-).
I envy your living in Paree. I so wish circumstances would conspire so that I could be your neighbor. It is such an amazing and inspiring city.
You, are too sweet. Well, I suppose that I don't always wear black and grey makes me stand out. I did feel on the day I wore orchid, turq and leopard print that I looked like I fell right off the turnip truck
Finally, yes!!!! Come to Valencia. Would love you to come. There is nothing here to see. But I would love to have you.
Oh… P.S. I want to visit Valencia!
funny, my mom and i were just talking about that phrase the other day!
my english teacher in 9th grade said that you have to be a little uncomfortable to write well – a little tired, a little hungry… a little uncomfortable, in some way.
i'm generally more creative when i ought to be sleeping, eating, going to the bathroom, something, so maybe there is truth in it, or at least there is for me. i hate to generalize. i definitely gravitate towards a touch of chaos in my life. just a touch. when i worked in an office, i would procrastinate until i had some good deadline pressure built up and then i would find that my work came easily and i was far more creative than i would be if i tried to get the project done early, without any anxiety at all (what's the fun in that?).
"being here in Valencia, and out of my element, has taught me that I am not dependent on a certain environment to write."
This is music to my ears. I'm so happy you're feeling this way!
I know a French artist who uses lots of orange when he paints pictures of NYC. He said orange was the color of energy and that NYC is full of it. When I returned from a trip to India I felt like I had left a world of color and returned to one of black and white. It seems so quiet that I seemed to be underwater. I'm one of those who needs order and quiet to create although I'm sitting here as I write this looking at a room that badly needs vacuuming and dusting.
My life runs in reverse of yours. My holidays are an oasis of calm and tranquility, my work and homelife complete chaos. I really struggle to get back into the groove once I am home. My assistant is an invaluable source of order for me at work and Kitty wears the same hat at home. But it is me who directs and that can be tiring.
I have often wondered whether I function best when conditions are chaotic, the juggling of 5 or more tasks it could be argued makes me better at my job.
Recently I have tired of teaching. Sadly I cannot afford to retire and I am hunkering down for 10 more years. It is not a bad thing it is just I know I would rather life was quiter, calmer. maybe a better balance is what i need.
A great post with much food for thought.
Writing in Valencia!! I LOVE IT!!
I don't know what I need, setting-wise, in order to write. Space, I guess, that I can easily pull from my normal life…not big spaces, just a little privacy while I type and maniacally twirl my hair.
The See book is next on my list…:)
Best post I've read this week.I live in a place I don't want to be. Thank God we don't have to be a certain place to create….but getting out and going to Paree every now and then sure helps. Coming home to my little master planned where I that walking woman who knows all my neighbors dogs but not my neighbors feels like I am washing my face and putting on pajamas:)
La Belette, your writing is always good and always enjoyable to read, but seriously I think this post is one of the best you've ever written. My eyes kept trying to jump ahead to read this, they couldn't get the words in fast enough – bloody brilliant. You clearly found whatever it was you needed to create.
Dear La Belette,
I have just returned from a week in Paris and I am surprised at how calm I feel. Whether it was th esurreal nature of the trip (or just the jet lag!)
I feel this incredible sense of peace. I have also come back with so much inspiration I (almost) don't know where to start.
This was a great post!
Mervat
xo
Your journey is such a rich discovery and you always provide so many wonderful insights, lovely Belette. I think sometimes, we travel to realize that we have already arrived. As for creativity, whatever feeds the mind and spirit, whether born out of chaos or calm, is what matters. Whatever works!
xx
Belle, i think it is toni morrison who says that 'the perfect slant of light does not exist…' that perfect situation or enviornment for writing does not exist.
on the other hand, i think it is alice walker who says she writes in bed in her pjs, and she does pretty well.
i haven't found a space that's good for me in terms of writing… but i continue to hope…
i loved this piece. your observations and feelings about how being in two very different places and what that may mean in terms of your writing. very insightful and interesting!!
I live in one of the biggest, most crowded places in the world but instead of living down town, I live in a flat way up high in the mountains surrounding the valley…
I can see the whole city down there when sitting by my window…
I do need chaotic Mexico City to be inspired… But I do love the view down there and the silence… Best of both worlds…
XXX
I used to do my best exam studying/paper writing in bars. The surrounding chaos totally helped me focus. And I love your farmer musings. A lot of my family are farmers who served in several wars and I always wondered how they felt coming back to Nebraska after- of course I'll never find out because they are of the farmer generation that doesn't talk about feelings!
Tickled pink to have been invited along for the ride.
Totally love the new banner photo!
Congratulations on having succeeded in becoming the mistress of your domain. I hope that your new digs lead to further tizzies of chaotic creativity. I can just imagine your many hands à la the India goddess stirring all your projects-en-route!
Great post!
Tickled pink that your comment is the first one on my new blog.
Thanks!! I love her too!!!!
It feels FANTASTIC to be the mistress of my own domain and no longer at the capricious mercy of Blogger.
Thanks, dear you!!xxoo