On “Beautifully” Broken.

What irks me about contemporary poets, writers and artists is that a vast majority of them are of the opinion that to create beautiful art, we must be “broken” or “damaged” in some way. If some artists utilize their sadness or pain to create a masterpiece, well, that’s great. But you could also use sunshine, happiness and golden oil paint to create a masterpiece that’s just as breathtaking. You do not have to be a “tortured artist” to create something interesting.

Glorifying depression, sadness and pain is not something I would ever advocate. Depression is a serious mental illness- just because you’ve had a rough couple of weeks does not mean your world is falling apart. You are not broken. Life is hard and you are a person with feelings- who sometimes feels sad. Read a poem I wrote about it

What’s worse about these artists is that they speak of how their shattered souls find solace within each other. You do not need any one to fix you. Your soul is not deeply scarred. You’re worn out and upset. Things are not as bad as they seem. You can heal yourself just fine. I do not know a great deal about relationships, but I can assure you that no one can help you if you cannot help yourself. I’ve written about this before, too. There will be no shattered fragments of pain healing themselves within your kaleidoscope eyes. No crystal teardrops dripping over suicide notes and love-poems. No kissing of scarred wrists. Pain is not romantic. Hurt is not artistic. Sadness is not beautiful or poetic. Do not wear your sadness on your shoulders like bloodied angel-wings. Fight it.

And trust me on this one.