Songwriting and Mood: Two Approaches

The way we see our artistic life can profoundly influence our moods and our sense of well-being.

After working for some time to improve our skills, we may achieve some proficiency.  We may start to collect achievements such as songwriting awards and prestigious bookings.  Our culture teaches us to emphasize these external achievements and we're encouraged to promote ourselves as much as possible. 

It's not surprising that we can become very self-centered as a result!  We might take on an air of entitlement or "special"-ness, thinking that because of our hard work and talent, we deserve to have more attention that others, or a bigger or more appreciative audience than we currently have.  Humility goes out the window.  Resentment kicks in.

To complicate matters,  our high level of sensitivity might cause us to notice those unpleasant dynamics in ourselves (whether we fully admit it or not) and then to feel even worse.  (A good book that explains this vicious cycle is The Mindful Way Through Depression, co-authored by Zen Buddhist mindfulness teacher Jon Kabat-Zinn.)

A different approach is to see our songwriting as a response to life, an expression of gratitude or a reflection of the greater good of which we are a part.  Many artists throughout history, including William Blake, Vincent Van Gogh and Bach, saw their work as an offering to God...but in today's secular culture, that outlook is less common.  It's an outlook worth cultivating, though, because (unlike the more materialistic outlook) it supports our mental health instead of undermining it.

When we see our songwriting as an act of gratitude or joy, and when we offer it up without expectation, we might notice that our feelings of neediness or disappointment decrease.  We may find ourselves feeling more kind toward ourselves and others, and more accepting of the world as it is.  For many of us, that "world as it is" may not include much material reward for our work.  That doesn't mean we cannot create excellent songs or find great joy in the process.  Some of us might make good money, too.  

Whether or do or don't, we support our own well-being--and the well-being of the Whole--when we view our work through a spiritual lens rather than a materialistic one.  Our songs become servants of love, instead of self-interest. 

True Worth

In his book "The Art of Power", Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hahn writes:

When you are filled with understanding and compassion, you have plenty of energy to serve, you are fully alive, very active, and your work, your film, your story, your novel, your poem is an expression of that mind of awakening.  And it brings you great satisfaction to know that your work contains understanding and compassion.  Even if people are not eager to buy it, you don't feel depressed at all, because you know the value of your work.

It's very easy for songwriters to be distracted by external measures of success.  This teaching reminds us that our work's true value has nothing to do with number of CDs sold or number of people in the venue--but instead with aspects of worth that are deeper, and indeed, timeless.  As Thich Nhat Hanh says, what really matters is compassion and insight...love and wisdom. 

When such elements of true worth are present in a song, the creator (songwriter) knows it, the Creator (Source of Life) knows it...and the community knows it too.

We recognize this compassion and insight in our own songs and those of others.  In fact, the distinction between songwriter and audience may even start to blur, when we allow love to guide us. 

When that happens, we find ourselves experiencing peace of mind, and deep satisfaction in our creative lives, no matter how much or how little external praise we receive.