How Writing Is Like Life…
I recently had an interesting realization: writing is kind of a metaphor for life.
It is very indicative of personality and even style of living.
In some ways this is fairly obvious. Awareness of this fact exists, but often we don’t think about it (or use it). It’s a great thing to make conscious.
You can learn a lot about someone by examining something he or she has written.
By noticing if it is flow-y, wordy, sparse, precise, factual, imaginative, descriptive, playful, serious, functional, entertaining, meandering, direct, etc. you can deduce a lot about the writer’s style of thought and even their primary mode of BE-ing.
Everyone knows there are some writers you like and some you don’t like as much. I have often tried to learn a bit about the writers I like. Often (but not always) I can really relate to those that I like, and those that I don’t like as much have lifestyles, interests, and personalities that seem (or are) quite different from mine. There are some exceptions, of course. Some people are just gifted writers, just like there are technically skilled painters. You may not really resonate and respond (or emphatically love) their work, but you can see that it is good in a technical sense. The same is true of writers. You can read a skilled and seasoned writer’s work and know that it is technically good. But it may not emotionally resonate and really lite you up. If it does, you probably are relating to something deeper within the person (and thus, the writing).
I showed one of my best friends this blog last night. She has a Virgo moon (like I do) but with a Taurus sun. She’s pretty grounded and practical, but she’s also creative. She’s an artist for her profession! (A very skilled and inventive high-end custom jewelry designer.) She definitely has an eye for beauty, but she also has the precision and skill to do very delicate detail-work with metal and stones. Anyway, she read one of my posts, and while she seemed to like it, her feedback to me was that it needed to be broken into two parts. There were too many ideas in one post. The blog needed more practical organization.
“I know!“, I said with a laugh. And I do know this. But, I also really see writing as a stream-of-consciousness adventure. I like to let it flow as it comes. That’s what is fun about writing for me. To structure it too much takes the ease and joy out of it. It can be done, of course, but it removes the “muse” aspect that I love. Finding the Muse is really the point of writing for me! She doesn’t like a lot of constriction and structure, I don’t think (as least not in my experience with her). But then again, nor do I.
This friend and I had a good laugh because I made the observation that my writing was like my life–kind of all over the place! I’ve lived an exciting life and a charming life and an entertaining life (and in some ways, a challenging life), and my writing reflects that. I’ve had many little eddies, diversions, distractions, course-changes, tangents, side-chapters, etc. in life, and my writing follows exactly this same pattern! There is little practical organization to either!! It’s really funny! I start off on a path (in the “real world” and in words), and I end up talking about (or doing) something entirely different! For me, this is perfect. I like it, even love it. I always trust the journey (in life and on the page).
I am definitely walking the windy road in this life. My soul is that of a wanderer. I like to explore the caves and crevices and streams and waterfalls just out of view. I think the journey is more important than the destination. My writing reflects all of this! It’s pretty neat, really!
My writing is positive, playful, and whimsical …most-of-the-time, and so is my personality. My mind is very lyrical (I often think in rhyme or verse…as if to amuse myself, which it does!), and my writing reflects this. (I have a whole blog dedicated to poetry, if you want to check it out: Diary of a Mystic Gypsy ) I definitely have taken the “road less traveled”…again and again and again. And I’ve also taken my time on that road!! My writing is indicative of this. It meanders, it pauses, it changes directions, it looks at things, it picks them up and more closely examines them, plays with them sometimes, it puts them down, it moves on, it maybe goes back to the original path or maybe not…
Interestingly, my artwork tells a slightly different story. I do think artists’ creations are definitely reflective of their personalities, but in a different way than writing. In some ways writing is more obviously metaphoric, such as I’ve just explained. Art is clearly still symbolic, however. It is representational by its nature. But you do often have to do a bit of analysis to try to understand the person behind the art and why their expression is happening “that way”. To use myself as an example, I do not meander as much in my art as in my life or in my writing. I tend to pick a subject and complete it. (The design often does evolve a bit during the process, however…maybe that’s how the meandering quality shows itself!) I do have the ability to follow through with an idea (in art and in life), however. I don’t always finish things, but often I do, even if it takes a while (I may put down a piece of art for weeks, months, or even years sometimes before returning to finish it later.) Often I keep momentum for the full project, however. If I lose momentum, it just means I’ve lost interest in the subject. Sometimes that happens. In art and life! I seem to get what I needed spiritually or emotionally from diving into the energy of a certain subject, and when I feel complete, even if the project is unfinished, I just put it down. But, if there’s just a little to go, I can summon my OCD-ness to kick in and make me just finish it.
I have the strangest combination of traits! I really do have some OCD. Most doctors do! It’s been scientifically studied (and documented)! It is a personality characteristic that predisposes people to high achievement and performance, so many people with OCD end up in charge of things or in relatively hard-to-reach professions (such as those that require advanced degrees). So, I’ve got this OCD-ness, which creates a certain rigidity within me, but I’ve also got a deep passion for freedom, which has no structure (or rigidity), and a meandering and very easy-going nature in other ways. It’s probably best to say that I’m a bit unpredictable. And unclassifiable. This is what you get when you have Uranus conjunct the sun astrologically, which I have.
I explained this in another post, but in case you missed it…Uranus rules freedom, unconventionality, fun, forward-thinking, technology, astrology, creativity, sudden changes, and so on. So, people with Uranus right next to their sun (their life force) often have lives characterized by these Uranian traits. They are free-spirited, even rebellious. They like to do their own thing (and not to be told how or what to do). They can be very creative, often eccentrically so. Their lives can be prone to sudden stops and starts and twists and turns. Surprise is a key word for Uranus. And so is progress. Often people with a strong Uranus (next to the sun or conjunct the ascendant, for example) will be very avant-garde in their thinking. They may play a role in elevating the thoughts of the people or communities around them. I certainly have done this, in some instances. I’ve always been WAY ahead of my time in terms of my interest in yoga, meditation, holistic healing…astrology. I’ve been bringing the ancient ways forward in a way that seems new in multiple areas of my life (and career). It scared people a bit when I was younger, but eventually people have come to realize I just was ahead of the curve. I was a way-shower. That is thanks to Uranus.
The gypsy-ness, too is due to Uranus–Uranus and my moon being located in the 4th house. The 4th house is the house of “home” in an astrology chart. The moon changes phases and is thus not a static energy. People with the moon in the 4th house will often (if not always) relocate frequently, even cyclically (sometimes returning to the same places again and again) following some kind of internal guidance that is always shifting (like the moon). So, I have a double whammy gypsy pedigree. Once my sun progressed into Sagittarius (one of the natural “travelers” of the Zodiac) when I was around 23, I really became interested in moving and traveling and seeing and experiencing. It was a trifecta! Probably when my sun progresses into Capricorn in 13 more years I’ll be ready to own land and be settled. So, I’ve got 13 more years to play. Hooray!
I’m an astrologer, by the way, in case anyone reading did not see my “About” page. I’m an astrologer and a physician. I never planned to be an astrologer. I just pursued it for fun! I started studying it in medical school, actually! I got my first professional astrology reading around that time, and it was sooo accurate, it kind of blew my mind! Honestly, I wasn’t even sure I believed in it until I had the reading (I was open to the possibility though!). After the reading, I promptly bought a book and got down to the business of educating myself about this most mysterious, fascinating, future-telling body of information. It was very hard at first (there’s a steep learning curve–like learning a new language), but I persisted because I was deeply intrigued. I love esoterica! And mysteries. And ancient knowledge.
Did you know that at the time of Hippocrates, the founder of so-called “modern medicine”, all doctors were also trained in astrology? Yep! It’s true! Many of the ancient great physicians were astrologers. Well, in Hippocrates time, 460 BC, all of them were. Nostradamus (1500s) was a famous seer, astrologer, and physician. The physician-astrologer training was clearly still existing during his time. Carl Jung (born 1875), a famous psychiatrist (and one of my personal role models), was also an astrologer. It’s a fantastic tool, especially for a psychiatrist. I seriously have so much information about a person right at my fingertips if I pull up their chart. I can tell them what their strengths are, what their childhood was like, what their lessons are likely to be, what their weaknesses are, what they are focusing on (in terms of achievement and goals). It’s truly incredible. There is information about almost every area of life. And I’m not even talking about the predictive stuff. That’s a whole other level! If anyone reading this has never has a proper, full astrology reading, I highly encourage you to check it out!!
Anyway, back to the art eddy. My own personal art style is very bold and symbolic. I like to use a lot of color and unusual materials and textures. This is probably due to the Uranus (unconventional) aspects in me. I like to use materials in ways they weren’t really intended, for example. I make paintings using beads…and string. Like the Huichol indians (but using a different technique). I do a lot of 3 dimensional work–adding different textures (like wool and yarn and other things) to paintings. I also like to make things like mobiles and decorated “talking sticks” and staffs using objects found in nature mixed with bought supplies. I also like to paint in the standard way, but I tend to paint symbolically, like I said. I can paint landscapes and other real-life things, but I don’t usually want to. It just doesn’t interest me. I’m more interested in using the act of painting to explore a subject of spiritual or energetic interest–like owls, mandalas, calaveras (Mexican Day of the Dead iconography), stars, the sun, flowers, bees, dolphins, spirals, etc. I tend to be most interested in spiritual subject matter or bold, nature-based imagery.
I guess this is somewhat reflective of my personality. I am bold and colorful and playful and mystical and spiritual. And my art and subject-matter reflect those traits. I am also a bit childlike , in some ways (see my post Fun is #1). My art reflects this, too! Many people probably do not resonate with my style of art. But some people do! And those people probably would like me! This is one reason I put a lot of art on my business webpage for my psychiatry work. If a person does not like my art or my web presentation, they probably are not going to be a good fit for my work. And if they love it, well perfect. We’re going to have a great time! I want to work with people who resonate with me…before we’ve even meet!
So, in a way, I guess I’m saying (and this is something all psychologists know and use) that everything we do is reflective of ourselves. There really is no hiding! How our workspace looks, how our house looks, how we dress ourselves, how our car looks, how we answer the phone, our voicemail message (or lack of one), our email signature, our Facebook profile, our Instagram page, our writing style, our art style, our signature, how you interact with your boss or coworkers (or therapist)…it is all reflective. Even the kind of food we eat tells a story. Everything we do is symbolic and indicative of deeper traits and priorities within us.
Life really is a hologram!
I love it!!
Can you see me ?
A Muse on the Loose 