The Euphoria of Creation - Mad Ponderings

I haven't been doing much creative writing lately. When I'm working on a major project like an album, I have to force myself to focus my creativity on that project. Otherwise, I end up constantly starting new songs instead of refining and finishing the ones I already have. I don't stop making new stuff, completely, but I do it a lot less frequently. Well, the album is almost done now, so I'm free to create again.

I just finished writing something, and I feel good about it. That's normal - I always feel good when I finish making something. I never really paid attention to the feeling, but today I am paying attention. I think I'm high. Seriously, the good feeling is physical. It's emotional too - I feel happy - but there is a physical element to it too. I'm not quite sure how to describe it . . . I feel light in my chest, I feel strong, much more energetic than I was before I wrote. I'm wondering if any scientific studies have been done on this type of thing. I think it would be found that the biology related to the after-creation feeling has a lot in common with the biological effects of drugs that are supposed to give users pleasurable experiences. The nice thing is that I get no side effects.

Hmmm . . . maybe this is why so many artists turn to substance abuse. Art could be a gateway drug - introducing us to an experience that we continue to crave and chase. I'll have to be careful. Maybe art is physically addictive. Is there such a thing as art-withdrawal? Maybe if you take an artist in the middle of a creative spurt and make it impossible for him to create, he'll get physical reactions - cold sweats, shakes and stuff.

Maybe I'm just talking nonsense because I'm strung out on this art stuff.