My creative journey

So far I have interviewed five people about “I’m not having anymore of that shit!” Everyone has to tell a different story, an unique one. There is H. who is struggling with his wife, whom he separated, about how often he can see the daughter they have together and who so much wishes for a better communication for the child’s sake. S. is only two months away from her 18th birthday and fears, that the brain tumor she had twice, once with 6 and once with 13, might come back at her 18th as predicted by the doctors. She lives life to the fullest, because she does not know how much time she has left. S. wants to be clear of the tumor for good, which would enable her to relax a bit more, take things at a slower pace. T. is american and has moved to Ireland to live with his partner. He is fed up with people lying instead of telling the truth, be it politics or on a personal level. He is faced with slow bureaucracy and a situation, where job hunting seems to have become a mission impossible. He wishes to set up his own business a pirate ship, traveling to different shores and entertaining people, be his own boss. R. has the feeling, that she is standing in her own way, when it comes to her career, being a writer. She is fed up with not believing enough in herself to really go for it no matter what. A. has been faced a lot with manipulation and sabotage by others, who didn’t want her to be who she was, trying to take her power. She has found a way to stay empowered and says:”Face the shit and do it anyway!”
I think this is so true. When I look at the stories I’ve been presented with, one thing becomes quite clear: “We can’t run away from our own shit.” In many cases the shit manifests itself as an ongoing challenge, which to a great extent influences our life, who we are and the way we think.
A challenge, which just simply can’t be ignored, but has to be dealt with in one way or another! In that sense: “Face the shit and do it anyway!”

I am writing this article in response to some reactions I got, when asking people to interview them about “I’m not having anymore of that shit!” which by the way, is not just about expressing anger, but bringing humor to it and having fun with your own anger as well. I hope our videos, we’ve been taken so far, bring that across. I am a theatrical person, of course I am, and I love the emotions, because they are the food for great drama, great stories. Stories about love, stories about life.
The origins of theatre go back to the celebrations of Dionysos in Greece and they performed comedies, as well as tragedies. Both were meant to serve as catharsis of the the spectator’s emotions.
For me this still feels right and true and very much applies, when I am creating a film or a theatrical piece. I am amazed about how much the free expression of our emotions is sanctioned nowadays. Only at special occasions are we allowed to show our feelings: funerals, weddings etc. Not only is someone, who freely expresses their emotions considered to be slightly mad, but also some emotions are more tabu than others. And anger is certainly one of them! Especially in spiritual circles it is a sign of near enlightenment, when you are floating above anger, seemingly never affected by it!
Anger is dangerous, when it is denied, judged and suppressed. We all know how dangerous it is! But anger has it’s place, like all the other emotions do as well and it wants to be seen and honored, not just being dismissed as inappropriate.
Here is what Gabrielle Roth, in her book “maps to ecstasy” has to say about anger:
“Anger is an integrity-protecting response to the invasion of your personal boundaries. It is “no” to a wrong, a violation. It draws lines and throws up barricades. Proper anger cuts like a knife through water. (…) It is quick, clear, needs no justification. Authentic anger is specific and justified, and its direct expression exposes impropriety and defends integrity in a way that benefits everyone.”