The consequence of spinning dark fairytales.
How easy it is to slide into a mire of gloom these days.
Everywhere people are predicting the worst. And it feels like the more we craft stories of despair, magically they come true. On and on it goes almost like doomed prophecies.
Is it possible that in a spirit of anxiety, the more we convince ourselves a day of doom is coming, the more likely it is to happen? People are creating narratives in the genre of dark fairytales with more than a sprinkle of apocalyptic themes added in. Fairytales in the past originated among the popular classes and often were outlets for expressing what is good and terrible in the world – what is to be admired and what is to be feared.
This doesn’t mean that some of the narratives being crafted now are not true or won’t happen. Who can know what will happen? It doesn’t mean we should hide our heads in the sand either.
What I’m reflecting on is how so many of us are getting swept up in the prevailing ominous mood. It’s contagious because we are social creatures and quite likely to be affected by the moods of one another. And there is certainly plenty to grieve and despair about. This gives us more fuel as creatives to write, dream, paint, speak out and dance with the darkness.
But I’m wondering who is called, in these times, to point to the light?
Because we need that now more than ever.
I’m finding that I’m craving – like never before – beauty.
Not simple, silly and superficial distractions that will make me forget about reality by scrolling, skimming and thrill-seeking. That can leave me even more exhausted.
But depth, substance and what I call a quiet nourishing joy.
I went to see a show over the weekend which was pure joy. And I had a moving experience; I came away altered. There was a moment when tears were rolling down my face. I became aware that I was crying but I didn’t know why. The thought then came to me – beauty; I had not realised that I was beauty deficient. Even though daily I see beautiful things – at least I try to notice these things – my mind and soul are often over-consuming and saturated with tales of woe. What happens when we are fed processed, sugary, genetically modified food with chemical additives? Our bodies and minds suffer. Our mood is affected. We become deficient in vitamins and nutrients that we need for our nourishing.
Many creative people don’t feel like being creative today and if they do it is to tell tales of gloom- to “say it like it is”.
But we also need the energy to point to what is enchanting, true and beautiful. Our institutions urgently need to realise this to encourage us to embody beauty and depth again. We need to create stories, dream dreams and imagine scenarios full of possibility and wonder. For this we need to take care to nurture our souls- tend to them like fragile gardens after a storm. Speak kindly to ourselves, take breaks when needed and pour nutrients into our bodies so we can become whole again. Some people will call this foolish, unrealistic and trivial in troubled times. But aren’t artists meant to be fools anyway – dreaming up possibilities that seem irrelevant but in fact are what give us life and make us human?
What do you do to tend to your soul in these times when people tell tales of doom?
How can you and I find the energy to speak, write, create, dance, paint the stories that express the beauty that is in our world?
Rev. Dr Karina Kreminski, Mission Catalyst – Formation and Fresh Expressions, Uniting Mission and Education. Karina also blogs and this article is reprinted with permission from This Wild and Precious Life.
