After taking a nice long nap this afternoon; there’s a certain ’something’ which goes along with the need to create. Recently I was watching a documentary produced by VH1 Classic – it was part of their classic album series and this particular episode focused on The Doors’ first album. VH1 Classic has actually done a very good job with this series; featuring such notables such as The Joshua Tree by U2, Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd and several other worthy choices.

I was struck by a quote by surviving Doors member John Densmore about how genius and self destruction sometimes walk hand in hand along the path of creation.

Since I’m drawing a bit from memory here, the basic premise of what Densmore had to say was something along the lines of how for Jim Morrison at least, the specter and demon of personal self destruction was very much part of that creative genius – but how for someone like Picasso, who lived into his 90’s, it wasn’t. Maybe music is a different kind of animal – but then I think about someone like Hunter S. Thompson who took his own life rather than suffer with a terminal illness, I wonder if he’s right; tho that’s not quite the same thing now is it?

I’m wondering about what it is inside those of us who feel the absolute need to create ’something’… ‘anything’… rather than live with the pain of keeping that bottled up inside – and does that creative spark, that certain magic, also demand a price to be paid at some unknown, unseen point down the road? I’m not sure.

The universe is about balance – and since I felt so despondent this afternoon, I’m feeling the need to be happy again. So – something from two of my favorite geniuses.