How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole
Susan Cain, Chase Jarvis
Lessons
Class Description
There's a common misconception that artists have a monopoly on creativity...But the very act of making waves - no matter the career - is a creative one. The Chase Jarvis Live Show is an exploration of creativity, self-discovery, entrepreneurship, hard-earned lessons, and so much more. Chase sits down with the world's top creators, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders and unpacks actionable, valuable insights to help you live your dreams in career, hobby, and life.
ABOUT THIS EPISODE:
Pain and suffering are fundamental to the human experience. We come into this world with the belief that there’s a better, more beautiful world out there, and we long to return to it. This pain can consume you if you let it, but it can also be a potent catalyst for creativity.
Questions to get things rolling:
Do you typically repress the pain, internalize it, and let it damage the way you treat yourself and others?
What is the pain you can’t get rid of?
Joy and sorrow are eternally paired in this world. So why do we so willingly accept and celebrate one, and try to distance ourselves from the other? Susan encourages our listeners to see their pain, sorrow, sadness, suffering, as their own creative superpowers. We have all experienced the phenomenon that Susan calls “bittersweet.” Sometimes listening to a sad song and looking out the window just feels good. So good in fact, that as humans we play sad songs 5x more than happy songs.
Something inside us is drawn to the artist who takes a painful experience, and turns it into something beautiful. We find validation and permission to take a similar journey with own own pain. Some of the best art stems from an individual having the strength to move toward something that is in some way difficult or embarrassing to express. The fundamental brokenness in all of us comes from an identifiable gap between where we are and where we want to be. Creativity has the ability to make something beautiful within this gap.
As a Brené Brown fan myself, I had to ask Susan where vulnerability plays into this equation. She followed up by asking a question that I believe is important for us all to think about: can you truly be creative without being vulnerable? As humans, our immediate reaction to pain can be to suppress it and try to run away from it. Allowing yourself to be vulnerable enough to feel it entirely can set your creative spirit free.
One of the greatest gifts of humanity is the innate ability to take something painful and turn it into an expression of beauty. This expression acts as a positive coping mechanism. When that transformation occurs, we grow through it, and come out the other side with a new understanding of the magic that exists behind painful experiences. There is no shortage of feelings on this journey, but how we use these feelings can make all the difference.
Susan leaves us off with an important message: Seek beauty daily.
The more you look the more you’ll find.
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