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Destroying Creativity

This quote gave me a lot to ponder over when I read it recently: 

One of the most wicked destructive forces, psychologically speaking, is unused creative power ... If someone has a creative gift and out of laziness, or for some other reason, doesn't use it, the psychic energy turns to sheer poison. That's why we often diagnose neuroses and psychotic diseases as not-lived higher possibilities.

- Marie-Louise von Franz 

There is so much truth to this observation. I can't recall the number of times, when meeting people from work in a social setting, I have learned about some talent the person has but never used, some hobby the choose not to pursue, a channel of creativity they decided to shut off. These were semi-professional dancers who had quit cold-turkey, college athletes that had not played their sport even with their young children to teach them the basic, musicians who no longer had their instrument at home and the list goes on. 

In each instance, this person was an absolute nightmare to work with. The older the person, the worse the outcomes for people around them. It makes sense why that would be - the person has stymied that wonderful positive force until it turned toxic. These folks are creative and there is inherent power in them that is now unleashed upon the world in unsavory, destructive ways. 

Conversely, the people who consistently make the time to feed their creativity - an Etsy side hustle, selling baked goods at the farmer's market, being in a blues band and so on - are even-keeled and easy to be around. 

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