The wind blows seaward, with no clouds lingering to rain upon the sun-scorched land. As the hot air blows to the cold sea, it forms a thick and treacherous fog over a pounding surf. A ship can land there but cannot set out to sea from the coast, leaving anyone stranded there with no recourse but to cross the desert on foot and then trek through a marsh to reach more welcoming tides. This has been happening for centuries.
Some people like to go surfing there at a place called "Skeleton Bay"
mental health, a bit negative
A decade ago I resolved to focus on my career and on the establishment of a stable material situation for myself. It was rough going at times but I have succeeded.
I'm tired all the time, because my leisure spills over too late into the night. I could make it more efficient, but I am resistant to doing this. Perhaps I feel that I would be letting work dictate all of my life again, breaking the promise I made myself to stop neglecting everything else I had deferred.
Not everything in the world deserves, needs, or even can have that kind of sincere effort. Apart from the work of thinking thoroughly, there's the harrowing experience of trying to communicate something subjective on top of it. But if you're gonna ride that bull, it's bad manners not to expect it to try to throw you, and it's poor form to try to appeal to consensus (somebody else's opinion) as a refutation of something you hear. The one discussing it is you, not an avatar of that consensus.
In this process, it's common that a consensus will be established, simply because everybody approaching the work probably have more than a few things in common and will find many of each other's feelings persuasive. And you will find in many cases that your own interpretation begins strongly influenced by someone else's. That's all fine. But that consensus is only the beginning of the conversation, not the end.
But that's not so. Criticism is the act of attempting to articulate the relation between the work and the feelings you associate with it. No two people see art the same way, so there's inevitably disagreement. In hearing what others think, you can come to a richer appreciation of the work, and help bring others to one as well. It's good to approach any discussion of art hoping to be proven wrong.
To me, the essence of criticism is taking responsibility for your own opinions.
I do #programming for a living, hate alarm clocks, & love to post at work. If you #ask me an unsolicited question on any topic, I will probably answer it. You better watch out; I know about timed hits.