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Last night I was lying in bed thinking about what to write today and if I didn’t feel better, how was I going to write my post. As these thoughts were circling my mind, I started wondering how other creative people dealt with being sick. When we were in Arles, we visited l’Espace Van Gogh, the center, or l’Espace, was the old hospital that housed Van Gogh when he initially cut his ear. I wasn’t equating my horrible feeling with poor Van Gogh’s mental illness or what I do with my writing in any way with Van Gogh’s genius in art but as much as he felt driven to paint, I feel the need to write everyday, regardless of whether it is read by others or not. This connection if you will, continued with my mind going through a list of other creative forces in history.
Stephen King was laid up a few years ago when he was accidentally struck by a car near his home in Maine, he managed to produce a script for a television show prompted by his accident and the subsequent time he spent hospitalized by his accident. I watched it that year and it was quite spooky and scary, it was quintessential Stephen King, his imagination on a good day is something of a force of nature so when it has been traumatized by an accident, it is really way intense. The list went on to Ludwig van Beethoven who felt compelled to write music despite going progressively deaf, I then touched on Amadeus Mozart who also suffered from both mental and physical illness.
These thoughts basically rocked me to sleep, my line of thinking did give me something to write about, the need to put thoughts down on “paper” even when I don’t feel well. Would I put this much effort into doing the dishes? No, today I prioritized, I took care of Rex and Jack; walking them, giving Rex his medications, feeding them and I will walk them again before the evening is over. I roasted two chickens and a big bunch of potatoes so that everyone had a nice dinner and I have left-overs for a few days.
The housework can wait until I am back to normal, rest and rest are the things I need and my creative outlet of writing. Another benefit of technology is that my IPad is portable and I can curl up in bed with it, instead of sitting in front of my computer.
laurieanichols 