Art in a cruel world

I am currently writing this point on June 22, 2025. 

The US just bombed Iran multiple times in the last few days. 

The world is a terrifying place right now and I know for me personally, I have found it hard to be motivated and inspired right now. Especially as an artist. 

I am currently also at the international thespian festival. I have been coming here for a couple of years and I love working at this convention. However, I am finding myself having a hard time really focussing and committing this year due to the current state of the world.

I understand that there is always something happening in the world that is out of our control, but as someone who overthinks, it can be hard to let go.

I have talked to several other artists, students and colleagues alike and the answer has been the same. That the world is scary and it can be really hard to feel empowered as a creative to stay motivated. 

I think it is important to still work obviously, we have bills to pay. But we can work and not ignore that it is unfair and really stressful at times.

I find in times like these, where the world is so uncertain, it is vital that we acknowledge and embrace. Leaning into the discomfort so we can experience and process.

We need to be kind to ourselves and allow ourselves to feel. We need to find our point of view and feel upset, angry, or confused, ect.

I know there is not much I can do to change the outcome, but ignoring those feelings to “get the job done” is not helpful either. 

So we focus on what we can do. 

I know I can help by raising awareness and also changing my mentality. I cannot change the possibility of a war or a bombing. I can’t, so spending every waking second stressing about it is not helpful.

I recognize the privilege in that statement, however it doesn't make it untrue. I can speak up and say how I feel and I can help to stop the spread of misinformation, I cannot stop the world from falling apart. I am a creative and I am a teacher of young creatives. I know that I can help them to feel and process in a better and healthier way than I and others have in the past. I can help them and myself by telling stories that help to raise awareness and share a message that aligns with the way we feel in this moment. I can use that internalized energy and turn it into something creative and maybe beautiful and productive in empowering and inspiring the growing generations to create for the better.

At the end of the day my job is to make people think and or feel. In times like these it is so vital for us to find our voice and our opinion so we can share it with the world.

I don’t know, I am rambling but it feels like an interesting time to be creative. I know for me it is hard to take it seriously sometimes, even though yes, I love it and I need to work to make money, it is hard to feel valuable and productive at times in a world that clearly doesn't value human life and human decency a majority of the time. Like how am I as an actor and as an acting coach supposed to feel valuable in a world that is breaking.

I personally have always found comfort in the thought that we meaningless tiny things on a floating rock in space.
Now this isn’t me preaching to you the belief that if nothing matters, everything matters. It is me saying if you let go of the control it can be helpful to find comfort in the chaos and the uncontrollable. 

I think it is really important to remind ourselves that we as artists are the last line of defense between consumerism and capitalism and our own humanity. A good friend has told me that we as artists “cannot be bought”, and I wholeheartedly agree with that because we chose a life that is filled with emotion and organic connection and point of view. We fell in love with the human experience.

We fall at the crossroads a lot because what we do has become so mainstream, however the work itself is still honest and at its most perfect, the reason we fall in love with it is its imperfection.

We fall in love with stories and characters in tv and movies and on stage, we fall in love with singers and artists and their lyrics, all due to their relatability and their connection to the human experience.  Yes we can and mostly are selfish beings and we in this current day and age (unfortunately) care mostly about money and capital. But it is the honest human connection that makes our lives have color and meaning. 

It is in these times of fear and confusion and distress that I believe we need to remind ourselves that the human experience is more valuable than the noise surrounding us. 

It is in these times that we focus on what we can do to be helpful to those who need our help. It’s about acknowledging the discomfort, processiong it and using that to help inform the work we do going forward.