Before we get going, please know I’m not in a post-Halloween, morbid mood. But an important part of life is death. In fact, life isn’t possible without death. A seed falls to the ground, dies, and life is birthed. Death is an important part of the circle of life, Simba.
Great creativity incorporates both life and death. Day and night. Dark and light. Light isn’t appreciated unless there is the contrast of dark.
We can’t create happy, light, joyful and expect it to be appreciated. There must be the darkness as well. (We also can’t create with no hope…or no light.) We need both–in balance.
The greatest songs have a dark part before the light. The most epic stories take us through peril and darkness…only to bring us out in glorious light at the end. We need both…death and life.
So how can you incorporate death into your creativity? It doesn’t have to become morbid or creepy. But it needs to be there so the light and life will shine.
