Van Gogh - Life ain't as sweet without the bitter

It's interesting how the unhappiness of somebody's life can be celebrated from an acceptable distance if it brought entertainment and understanding to others. Van Gogh is a perfect example of this. Would we rather he was a happy, well adjusted human being with a comfortable, easy life? Or are we actually happy he suffered the misery he did as we celebrate his genius?


As a society we have no problems extracting the beauty without questioning the source, sometimes a little too lightly. Some obviously appreciate the entire package of Van Gogh's existence but some just appreciate the beauty without seeing the sadness, not that there's anything necessarily wrong with that.

I am fully aware of the importance of suffering throughout the arc of a person's life. Van Gogh experienced higher highs than most but as a result had to deal with the lower lows, many would consider this both a blessing and a curse. The majority of society lives in a mundane medium in which they rarely venture too far in either direction of happiness or sadness. We are all kept in our safe bubbles of content.

Personally I would rather be someone that experiences life to the full, someone who appreciates beauty and misery so much that they experience both bliss and depression in a fluctuating process. Anytime i drift to far into the middle I usually self destruct because feeling misery is still feeling something right? It's the not feeling anything at all that is the curse. Based on this logic, I certainly agree Van Gogh was the lucky one.