upstream by mary oliver

“The most regretful people on earth are those who felt the call to creative work, who felt their own creative power restive and uprising and gave to it neither power nor time.”

Isn’t it scary? Or is it more scary to take the risk? To take the first step towards the creative journey? Creativity sounds cool but it comes with fear, risk, uncertainty, fight with inner demons, failures and a huge amount of harsh selfishness to complete your art; which often leads to loneliness.

I didn’t want to regret that’s why I went on to the path. And it came with all of those I mentioned earlier. In one way, it liberates me, and in other way there’s this constant fight between keep going and not doing anything.

But maybe, I am going to risk it all. Don’t we all do it? That’s why people call us selfish. But doesn’t it feel worthy after a while? Am I making any sense? 

Mary Oliver dives into the world of creativity, walks on the narrow alleys of art and describes the journey in her poetic language in this collection of essays. 

I read this book at night, when the whole world is asleep and quiet. It was a wonderful experience. Mary Oliver talks about art, writing but most importantly she talks about nature and solitude that help to write. There were parts about the past poets and the learning that came from them.

As Oliver said, “I could not be a poet without the natural world. Someone else could but not me. For me the door to the woods is the door to the temple. “

The essays were like water. It flows through my mind effortlessly. I could see the small cottage near the woods, hear the sound of the river backside of the cottage and the warmth and peace of nature. It was a feeling of belonging that I have been searching for ages.

Or as Oliver said, “maybe it’s about the wonderful things that may happen if you break the ropes that are holding you.”

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