from the latest sun magazine: an interview with Natalie Goldberg

Zeiger: some people seem to think you have to suffer in order to create.

Goldberg: No need to worry: you will suffer. Even if you're quite enlightened, your body will hurt, and you will die someday; you will leave the people you love. So we don't have to romanticize the suffering artist. The important thing is not to add to our suffering, not to pour gasoline on top and then light it. Writing comes from the essential suffering, not from the extra drama.

This reminds me of something Suzuki Roshi once said. He said that asking, "What am I doing with my life?" is like trying to put a horse on top of a horse and then ride it. It's hard enough to get on one horse and ride; it's impossible to ride two horses, one on top of the other. So just get on your horse, your human life, and ride; don't think about suffering, creativity, or imagination. Just pick up the pen and go.