Let The Art Consume You
If you love something, you need to find time in your life to pursue it. To engage with it. To feel alive. To feel worthy enough. When you love something more than yourself, you need to be involved in it. That involvement gives you the sense of fulfilment you so crave. It fills the void inside you that no one else can.
If you love playing the piano, find time to play it every day. Not weekends. Not the long holidays. Not whenever you happen to have time. Find time to practice it every single day. Or as close to daily as you possibly can. What you love is also your solace. It gives you peace through indulgence. You chose that art for a reason.
Let the art consume your existence. For that small portion of the day, let yourself feel alive. Drown your sorrows, your wishes, your wants, your frustrations in it. Redirect that energy somewhere so you can feel better. Feel ready for the battle again.
They say if you want to understand the artist, look at their art. That's because the art becomes their only gateway to expression. Besides, if you don't practice what you love, did you ever love it at all? Love is also devotion. You have to risk being called crazy for loving the craft this madly. If you haven't been called crazy, you haven't loved enough. You already know that. I don't have to tell you.
The craving to be consumed by the art and craft you love has to show in your body. In your mannerisms. It should change your character. It should be visible in your eyes. Your identity must be shaped by what you love, not by what you hate. The world can hate you, deride you, dismiss you, but it doesn't matter. It shouldn't. Because you have already devoted yourself to the sacred. Their words don't matter.
It's better to die in pursuit of something you love than in pursuit of not being hated. Find time for yourself. Let your craft become your solace. A place that consoles you. Heals you. Makes you whole again. Because only in those moments will you feel the spark of life. And it's important that you feel alive. Mere living isn't enough.