My wife puts colored beads on a string and makes lovely jewelry for her friends. I string words together in sentences and paragraphs. It’s a creative outlet.
Even the sad posts feel good to write. Disillusioned Children, for example, may give the impression I walk around in a state of discouragement, but that’s not necessarily true. My heart is often cheerful. Only cheerfulness doesn’t prompt me to write as melancholy does, and that comes over me too.
Writing actually disperses the sad thoughts by bringing them to expression. Words exorcise the demon and help me once again to find the joy in living.
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, Rejoice. (Phil 4.4)
Of the eight deadly thoughts in classical spiritual theology, sadness plagues me most. Writing provides a way to combat it, allowing me to rejoice in God.
I don’t know whether or not you think of yourself as influenced by or sympathetic towards existentialism, but the connection between melancholy and writing is one that existentialists and other romantics make. And if the existentialists are right, as I think they are, feeling that melancholy, admitting it, and confronting it creatively is a sign that we are aware, honest and alive. As existentialists see it, cheerfulness, although very pleasant and welcome, is ultimately not a realistic aim for life.