We saw the new Amy Winehouse Documentary. As they say, "raw, vivid, heartbreaking..." You leave thinking, "What a waste." It's sad, a little maddening. Amy's story follows a familiar trajectory. You are left with one incredibly great record, "Back to Black," and her totally, amazing voice. Another shooting star, imploding on itself.
I thought of the "Wounded Child Archetype," (which is so beautifully and vividly explored by Susanna Barlow), it is one of the most compelling human archetypes in our culture - one that we all carry from lesser to greater degree. Famous Wounded Children? Think: James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, Michael Jackson, Kurt Cobain & Amy Winehouse. Wounded children who never grew up, and they used their pain as the source of their creativity.
This is a dangerous thing. Leads one to wallow in the pain, to worship at the altar of their wound. It's compelling, and attractive to others, because it's so honest. It's harrowing too. Leads the willful child to do what they want, when they want. If fame and success come, they end up feeding this little beast inside. The wound is insatiable. Swallows everything up.
The Wounded Child sees everything through the lens of the wound. The wound colors everything. These famous, wealthy people never really have to come to terms with the wound. They can't heal, instead they turn to sex & drugs to mask the pain. Which of course, just adds fuel to the fire.
Maybe these famous people are attractive to us, because we recognize the wounded child in us too? And we see these folks indulged, and secretly we'd like to be indulged too? Most of us have to grow up. We have to do our best to heal the wounds in our lives and move forward. You have to do the simple things of living.
I am always amazed that such talented, creative, charismatic people couldn't be saved by the creative work. The work itself is not enough for the Wounded Child. The Wounded Child is too wrapped up in their own pain, their own reality, they can't fully embrace the things of the world. Can't really see the world and themselves with clarity. Ultimately, they only want to be loved, but they don't feel worthy, and can't really get enough love to carry on with the task, and the gift, of life.