I sometimes wonder what people think about when they let their mind run free. Are there places they won’t go, or do they just let loose and explore the full weirdness of the human experience?
Because here’s the thing: letting your mind free to wander to the most inappropriate places is kind of the whole point of the experience. And, at the risk of stating the obvious – just because you imagine yourself doing something doesn’t mean that you’ll actually do it. Often the simple act of vividly imagining something in your mind is quite enough. There is no penalty for thinking what you want to think, and you have committed no crime by doing so.
Of course this inner life, for the most part, should be left unsaid – I totally get that. Unless, however, you are an artist.
In that case it is your duty to explore this stuff in your art, either obliquely or expressly. Maybe this is part of the secret power that makes some art so uniquely transformative. It’s like an artifact saying “You are not alone, I have seen and felt this too.”
Art should be an honest and full exploration of the human experience, with all of its frightening potential. It takes no small amount of bravery to do that.