This month I posted a new article, Living with a Creative.
It’s my tongue-in-cheek description about how to maneuver when you find yourself in a relationship with one of those artsy/creative types, who we all know can be a bit more intense or edgy than regular human beings.
Of course, that’s a generalized statement that doesn’t fit everyone, but sometimes it does, and when it does you might not know quite how to respond to that person who, more than most, is a bit more sensitive and intense than other people you’ve known.
But relationships are a two-way arrangement, and the artsy creatives out there need to be aware of their part, too, and how their intensity affects the other person and the relationship.
We creatives can be an odd bunch, but we’re also an alluring bunch. For the average human being, to think about having an artist in their life can be exhilarating and conjure up all kinds of romantic, adventurous notions of what it will be like …
A lot of creatives are taken aback when other people are drawn to them and their work, and when they receive acclaim, because a good percentage of creatives aren’t so secure in themselves or their work. They are genuinely surprised when others make a big fuss over them, and many shrink back from the spotlight, though deep down that may be what they want the most.
A few who do get it can get weird, let it go to their heads, and turn into obnoxious, self-absorbed nut cases, but that’s not the majority of us. We can’t fathom that our artsy-ness is of any interest to anyone. Mostly we’re just happy to get to do our thing and frustrated when we can’t for whatever reason. To find out that someone is actually drawn to us and our work is like the icing on cake … it just adds to the joy.
So when a normal human on planet earth gets to include a creative person in their life, suddenly all those romantic, adventurous notions are coming true … or … NOT!
Because the majority of creatives have all this intense energy. They’re not bad people. They’re not perfect people. They are simply creatives! But all the intensity which makes them great creatives and fun to have around, can be confusing to live with day to day.
It can a real conundrum for partners, parents, and spouses, so I wrote that article to let the regular humans know what they could expect with someone like that in their life.
Then I realized that it’s a conundrum for the creative, too … and being the usual ultra-sensitive souls that they are, they can end up beating/puffing themselves up severely for things that nobody caused and no one is responsible for. Neither a pounded ego nor an inflated ego is any fun to live with!
So, to balance out the article which was aimed at the regular human half of one of these relationships, let’s use this month’s blogs to speak to the creative human who’s the other half …
Thank you.