Playwright George Bernard Shaw famously said, "Life isn't about finding yourself, life is about creating yourself." A quote that might seem at odds with writer and Trappist monk Thomas Merton's adage: "Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time." So which is it? Can the act of creation help you live into or find your identity? Does identifying as an artist have to mean a life of turmoil and hardship? Join us for this week's episode to find out.

This episode includes music of Claude Debussy, J.S. Bach, Georges Bizet, and Angela Sheik, including performances by Jani Parsons (piano), Gabriel Benton (piano), Merideth Hite Estevez (oboe) and the Carolina Youth Symphony. Read more about the whale study Merideth mentions in the episode here:https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2020/04/coronavirus-pandemic-earth-pollution-noise/609316/ There are still a few spots in the new, recently added section--now on Wednesday evenings-- of the Artist's Way Creative Cluster! Learn more and register here: https://artistsforjoy.org/theartistsway