Seven Reasons Why Artists Need To Keep Making Art, Part III, by Rachel Simon

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4. Art-especially good art-attracts people who would otherwise remain indifferent or even hostile to a cause.  Many has been the time when my opinions have shifted because I've read a skillfully worded argument in favor of ideas I hadn't considered, or because I came across a political cartoon that forced me to see a situation from a different perspective.  There have also been paintings and novels and photographs and poems that have moved me to feel such sympathy toward a group of people that I opened myself to thinking about current and historic plights I'd never paid attention to before.  And even when art isn't made with the intent of inducing rethinking, it might still prompt major changes.  Indeed, art can accomplish so much more than bludgeoning us with messages.  It can give a cause for openheartedness, open-mindedness, and inner exploration.

5. Art is the fountain of youth.  Okay, I know this is sort of moving into the territory of vanity.  But you might have noticed that when you look at people in middle age and beyond, some are haggard.  They seem worn down by the years, and maybe even regretful about the way their lives played out.  But other people are full of energy.  They smile easily, think interesting thoughts, have lively minds, and are fun to talk to.  Now I can't say that every older person with joie de vive has lived a creative life.  But I can say that if you life a creative life, the chances are really good that you'll love life, and that will keep you young at heart.

6. Art opens doors to the most exciting people.  I'm sure you found this just by coming to meeting other people in the arts.  Most were probably cut from a very different cloth than the average person.  Most are more likely to dream and question and see things other people don't see.  Creative people are like that.  Yes, some are also neurotic.  But most think outside the accepted way of thinking.  That alone makes life more stimulating.

7. Lastly, art has great perks.  It's fun to create, so you can actually enjoy every day of your life.  As a creative person, you're generally given wide berth when it comes to how you dress.  People cut you slack with how you act, too; if you say something a little off-color, or keep peculiar hours, people just say, "Oh, well, she's an artist."  And if you actually become successful, the universe bestows all kinds of favors.  I have the key to the city of Hoover, Alabama.  I have seen the Portage glacier in Alaska.  I was given a personal tour of the Bill Clinton Presidential Library.  I have been hugged by hundreds of people with a family situation like mine, for writing thoughts they couldn't admit.  Now you might say, That's not a reason why we must keep creating art the rest of our lives.  And you're right, it's not.  The world doesn't need happy, fulfilled people who feel their lives have meaning.  But I tend to think that the world is just a little better for every happy and fulfilled person in it. 

So please know that, if you are making art, what you're doing matters.  The world will still have war and bad traffic.  But if it has art-the art that only you can give us-it will have something more.  A less predictable pace.  An opportunity for transcendence.  A way to make sense of the senseless. 

The more you give yourself to your art, the more the world receives.

Rachel Simon, Building a Home with My Husband, memoir, home renovation, Penguin Books