You don't want to spend your time around people who make you hold your breath. You can't fill up when you're holding your breath. And writing is about filling up, filling up when you are empty, letting images and ideas and smells run down like water - just as writing is also about dealing with the emptiness.
In her book "Bird by Bird," Anne Lamott emphasizes the importance of surrounding oneself with supportive, uplifting individuals. She suggests that spending time with negative people can stifle creativity, like holding your breath makes it impossible to breathe freely. It's crucial for writers to thrive in a nurturing environment to allow their thoughts and ideas to flourish. The act of writing, she argues, should be a process of replenishing oneself, drawing inspiration from the world around us.
Lamott also highlights the dual nature of writing, which involves both filling oneself with rich experiences and confronting moments of emptiness. Writing is a journey of expressing and exploring these feelings, where images, ideas, and sensory details flow freely, similar to water. Embracing the challenges of emptiness is as vital as celebrating the moments of creative abundance, ultimately leading to a deeper understanding of the human experience.
