A while ago, I watched a video about a girl who spent about five weeks alone in a foreign country, deep in the countryside. Just to create. It had been almost a spiritual awaking for her and she shared how creative she had been and how much art she’d produced. And it got me thinking, this idea that you need solitude to be TRULY creative is interesting because I don’t think it’s necessarily true. Of course, different things work for different people and for that girl it had worked marvellously.
But, having to cut yourself off from everything + everyone to go to a beautiful location to create feels very capitalistic to me. That is, if you’re pitching this as the most elevated and ideal situation for all creatives. It seems like an aesthetic almost sanitised creative environment. Bar the privilege and elitism which can surround this ‘true artist’ aesthetic, it’s kind of sterile.
I think it’s a disservice to us and doesn’t allow us to simple be a creative. Because to be something, you have to live it every day. It should be as necessary as breathing.
This is why I adore Islam. You know it’s a way of life. Going into the mountains and living like a monk to get ‘closer to Allah’ eschewing life’s pleasures is not encouraged. Instead it is all about balance.
For example, there is a famous hadith about a man who fasted every single day and stayed up in qiyaam every night. Tthe Prophet Muhammed (SAW) forbade this, because your body has a right over you. Instead, you are rewarded for partaking in life’s joys (so long as you do it with intention and within the limits of Islam of course!) and you are encouraged to live a full life. You pray five times a day, you say bismillah before you eat and so on. Our life as a Muslim is built around worshipping Allah SWT and yet we live.
I think being creative is the same. Yes, of course it’s easier to escape to a remote lush place and spend all your time surrounded by nature, away from the distractions of daily life. It’s definitely beneficial. But it’s not ‘better’ nor a requirement to be ‘truly’ artistic. Rather, finding time in the regular humdrum day, prioritising creating over merely consuming endlessly is so much more fulfilling. Creativity is like a muscle isn’t it, the more you do it, the stronger it gets. And not to be dramatic, but I do believe that everyone needs to have creative pursuits to survive, but that’s a conversation for another day.
And like Ramadan boosts our iman but it’s not our only form of ibadah, escaping our daily life to create should be an accessory instead of the goal.
Finally, some of the most famous creatives were inspired by the day-to-day, like Charles Dickens. While it makes sense to escape to focus, the restrictions/distractions of work and other people make your art better. Restrictions force you to think outside the box. It makes you sharper at your craft at best and at worst gives you something to add flavour to your artistic pursuit. Ultimately, daily creative moments can be the difference between shallow, surface level work and a masterpiece that moves hearts.
