> but i must add that it when creativity is involved it is also an outward > thing...for any this is because the creation is the inner life being made > manifest...a very vulnerable & brave thing to do, especially for someone who > is basically a private person as i suspect joni is...private, yet her > creativity compels her to write these songs then of course put them out for > the world to hear...a very complex issue that i think plagues many > songwriters who are basically shy & private, yet are compelled to put their > innermost thoughts out there for the whole world to hear, admire, dissect, > criticize, etc....
I get what you are saying, I think. however, I don't see how this makes self esteeem an outwrd thing. It cstill comes form within and not from without. Displaying you art is a scary business. It can bring reward or not. It can elicit good and bad responses from others. I know I feel nervous when showing my work. it makes me feel good to have it admired. It doesn't necessarily make me feel bad if it is not admired. We cannot all like the same thing. If the quality of the work was disparaged, i maybe would be annoyed, but would genrally think the comment came from someone who has no idea about finishing techniques. The worst response I ever got, one I thought was rude and insulting, was when I emailed several pics of my work to someone who asked to see them and all they said was 'thanks'. No comment. 'not my cup of tea' would not have been insulting or rude. Of course in pics one can only see a colour/design and not the quality of the handle or the finish, so one could only surmise that one either liked the look or not. However, where I separate this from self esteem is in how it makes you feel. Self esteem is all about how you feel about yourself, whetehr you see yourself as a good person or a bad person, as worthy or worthless. So if one reacts to negative reaction to your art, with a feeling of worthlessness or badness then , yes, your self esteem is the issue. No matter how creative we are, no matter how good we are at something, it is not that that gives us the feeling we are good people and if it is, then it is shallow and dangerous for reasons I mentioned before.(one day we might not be able to 'do' or like in the situation you brought up, peop;le might not value our work). It is very possible for people to create good, oustanding, work and have a good sense of self and self worth. Art does not have to stem from just pain. Douglas Adams only discovered he coudl w=write AFTER analysis and learning to value himself. I certainly know that in my own case with the 3 talents I haev, that the results of using them are at their best when i don't have in the forefront of my mind what others may think of me! My work and me are separate things. yes my work coems from me, and all that I am, but it is NOT me and thus if someone doesn't like my work, it is not ME they do not like, but my work. It is VITAL to distinguish between the two. I may not like your music Kate. I don't know cos i have not heard it. I would be very sad if I heard it, disliked it, and you felt you were not good enough as A PERSON as a result. Of course you might be disappointed at a neagtive response to your work, who wouldn't be? So I still separate the two things. As I said before, I do not know Joni at all so have no idea what her opinion of her self is. It would be very sad tho if she allowed negative reactions to her art to make her feel worthless. Mind you, if she has good self esteem in the first place, that will not happen!!!! perhaps she understands that what she does and who she is are different. --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.370 / Virus Database: 205 - Release Date: 05/06/02
