Dear Scared to Feel Too Much: Sometimes, Writing Saves Us

In what ways does self-expression, whether through writing, art, or conversation, awaken us to the richness of existence, and how might it guard against the monotony of routine?

This is why art matters: because it dredges our psychic depths in ways that even the artist may not understand. “The arts,” writes the Zen poet Gary Snyder, following Levi-Strauss, “are the wilderness areas of the imagination, surviving like national parks in the midst of civilized minds.” Strange things grow in the wilderness; unusual plants thriv... See more