SCREAM

Or more precisely, The Scream. This recently came to mind and is what has sparked this edition: Norwegian Expressionist Edvard Munch’s haunting painting known by that name (Skrik). He was so taken by the primaeval horror and existential angst that is life in its undercurrent that he made four versions of The Scream, one of which even fetched £75 million at an auction in Sotheby’s a few years ago. As this painting came to mind recently, I thought about the fact that psychic change only begins when we scream. True, profound psychological growth and transformation can happen only when we scream. The starting point is that moment when we tap into that primaeval part of us that cannot and does not use words, but can only cry out in agony, in the consuming desire for more, in the longing for Life itself. Have you ever screamed? 

Do you remember your scream? Can you trace your growth from that point? Maybe not, maybe it is not as linear as that, as obvious as that. Maybe you would argue that there are many small screams along the path of life, moments in which like long strands of seaweed in the ocean, our feet get tangled in the abyss within and more than anything, we yearn to find a way out, to break free into wellness and wholeness. Some are willing to pay millions of pounds for a painting of The Scream, but the actual scream itself is priceless. In fact if we do not scream, we are paying the ultimate price. We pay the price of slow self-decay, painful and meaningless, all wrapped up in what is essentially our fear of the unknown.

History is full of literary and artistic portrayals of this transformative process and the importance of this initial trigger, whether it is Huckleberry Finn who stages his own death to escape his alcoholic father, or the Renaissance (lit. rebirth), a whole epoch of human endeavour symbolising the scream that resulted in a vigorous surge of new life. One literary example that comes to mind is this biblical passage: “Truly I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” (John 12:14). The invitation is to scream, to die in order to live. To want life more than anything else. To fear isolation more than connection, to, as Carl Jung says, stop avoiding facing our own soul. It is an invitation to courageously step out and in doing so, recalibrating our fear of the unknown so that it is outweighed (even if by an inch) by our desire for more. 

So, have you screamed? If you have not, then the invitation is yours. It is dangerous and will require all of you; it will have profound, life-altering consequences and what will follow will not be an easy road. But then again, what journey worth taking is..?

(c) Belinda É. Samari

For those of you who are part of the creative expedition, be sure to check out my recommendations in your newsletter. If you are not already part of the crew, join the creative expedition below and regularly receive inspiring, informative and practical content in your inbox. Experience the full benefit of the journey!