The Opposite of Depression
Since peace, love, creativity and joy are the essence of spirituality, the path of Art is ultimately a spiritual path
This article originally appeared on my personal blog, Reflections of the Sovereign Artist, here.
Editor’s Note: In two days, this post will be locked and is available only to paid members because we don’t want this duplicate content on the open web in a way that might draw traffic away from the original post. You can always read the entire post here.
We are sharing this essay in The BoldBrush Letter because the underlying idea applies to all artists. Please enjoy.
The opposite of depression is not joy. Depression literally means to “press down.” Depression, repression and suppression all mean roughly the same thing — to press down, hold back or press under — to not allow, especially negative emotions, to be ex-pressed. Expression literally means to “press out.”
Thus, the opposite of depression is expression and, especially, creative expression. We must learn to embrace the dragon because creativity is a relief valve that leads to temporary enlightenment.
The Path of Art can lead you out of depression.
And, when negativity has been expressed — pressed out of your being — the natural state of a human is what results. And that natural state is joy, love, peace and creativity. That is why it seems like the opposite of depression is joy - because once you express the negativity, you do experience joy. You notice that you live in a world of wonder, quickened by the God Spell.
When you stop contracting around the negativity and expand into harmony with the current, it is a great relief. And, since peace, love, creativity and joy are the essence of spirituality, the path of Art is ultimately a spiritual path which, essentially, is the message of the classic book The Artist’s Way and a major message of my forthcoming book, The Sovereign Artist (join waitlist).
“The most regretful people on earth are those who felt the call to creative work, who felt their own creative power restive and uprising, and gave to it neither power nor time.”
— Mary Oliver, Poet
This reflection explores themes addressed in my forthcoming book, The Sovereign Artist.
Inside of each of us lies a divine force - The Sovereign Artist Within - a remarkable force which brings joy, peace, creativity and love back into our lives. This approach to the creative process saved me, and it can save you too, perhaps it can save us all. Connecting with The Sovereign Artist manifests as an explosion of creativity, peace, and quiet inner joy. It transforms the artist into a reflection of itself - sovereign, free, joyful and loving. If that is of interest, please click the button below to join the book’s waitlist.
Other Referenced Posts:
Embrace the Dragon
“Such BIG Truths veiled behind psychological concepts.” - Louanne Headrick
Creativity is a Relief Valve
“Why? Why is every single paragraph in your essay so perfect that I can’t even choose which one I like the best? And what magical creativity elixir have you tapped into to be able to express truth like this? This is the first essay I’ve ever wanted to print out.” — Minna
The Energy of Temporary Enlightenment
“Well stated, Clint. You continue to play chords that resonate with my inner being. Thanks.” — Robert Chapala
The God Spell
“Love to you Clint in exposing truth to readers. Very well thought out words, sifted through the mind and soul of that one known as ‘Clintavo,’ that one small but unique piece of the holistic puzzle called life.” — Louanne Headrick
No AI Zone: Everything written in this post (and all my posts) is written 100% by me, Clint “Clintavo” Watson, a flesh and blood human seeking to grow my soul and come home my truest self; for that is the essence of creativity. I do not use AI to assist me with writing — that would deny me the very growth of my world through writing that I seek.
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Thank you for this post. Art is so powerful. It’s so easy, for me anyway, to revert to thinking it’s not important, because of society’s view of art being childlike or ‘just a hobby’. Art for me has been the most cathartic form of expression when I had no idea how to express what was going on in any other way.
Art, creative expression, is the most powerful tool for processing grief and trauma because it allows you to let go. Seeing it the way you worded it about pressing it down, so well said. I've spoken about it many times but never so eloquently.