What should writers have in common with John Mellencamp?

 

In a recent Associated Press interview, John Carucci asked John Mellencamp why he’s had such staying power in the music industry—30 years is a long time in any business, let alone one as competitive as music. So how did John Mellencamp do it?

For one thing, he never gave up. He said he actually enjoyed the struggles – he liked rolling the rock up the hill. For him, it’s never been about getting to the top as much as enjoying the journey along the way.

That answer stood out to me as something wonderful, something anyone in the arts should grab onto. Struggles are bound to come along on any path, but if we love what we do enough not to care about getting to the top – love it enough even to enjoy the inevitable challenges that come along the way, then the reward is already found, isn’t it?

So, for this writer anyway, I strive to continuously have this in common with Mr. Mellencamp. I want always to remember that writing is its own reward, and the rest — the publication or the rejection, the awards or the disappointing reviews, the fans or the competition, good sales or bad – if we remember why we love what we do, even when others may see us rolling a rock up the hill like Sisyphus, all we know is that it’s part of the journey, one we’ve chosen and want to be on.

John Mellencamp finished his answer to this particular question by saying “people think it’s a God-given right to be happy; it’s not.” That’s a philosophy I’ve long held to be true, too, even though I know God loves me and that He’s a good God. Not that I haven’t doubted those facts; I first doubted them many years ago when I was a lonely single parent whose mistakes led me to that loneliness. I doubted Him again about twelve years ago, after learning my first son would never be able to take care of himself, when my roles as wife, mother and writer would all suddenly be shadowed by the role of caregiver. When we’re pushing that rock up the hill, it might not feel like God is watching out for us, but I have to believe if life were always easy, if we never had to push or struggle, then most of us would probably never give God a second thought. And that would be worse than not having the struggles to begin with.

Hat’s off to Mr. Mellencamp for all the wisdom he’s learned while rolling that rock up the hill…

Photos from Bing Free Images. To read entire Q&A article on John Mellencamp click here