I’ve written before and often thought about how doing something that I love to do and really live to do can help other people. It helps me so much and calms this internal unrest I’ve come to know as depression and anxiety. But it also seems to help other people.
As I was reading a book called, “Waking the Spirit” by Andrew Schulman, I came across this quote in a section describing the various mental illnesses that plagued great composers throughout history from Beethoven to Tchaikovsky, from Mahler to Rachmaninoff: “… artists who used their music to alleviate their own suffering composed some of the greatest music ever written, which in turn has the effect of ameliorating the suffering of others.”
This stands to reason why when you listen to some of the tormented lyrics of someone like Jonathan Davis from Korn you feel some peace, some rest, some calm. What has helped him express his affliction is helping you and I express ours.
Though some of the most well-known and accomplished individuals in the history of humanity have endured incredible bouts of relentless pain, they have come out admired, dignified, and celebrated. This verse kind of jumps in my head, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”
Suffering does not burn without reason. And if we let it, it can achieve and accomplish something magnificent both in us and in our world.
So, if your heart is shattered and if your heart is broken, hold onto your hope, you’re never alone and it’s only adding to that page full of notes.
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