Art as Vitamins

Tonight was the start of my drawing classes. I was quite surprised to find that I left the class on cloud nine. It wasn't because my drawings, done in charcoal (for the first time!) were exquisite (they weren't). It's not that the teacher gave me more "helpful hints" than anyone else, and I'm probably the least experienced person in the class. It wasn't because I was mortified when the whole class showed their sketches to each other. It wasn't because she also, after giving criticism, said that my second drawing had really improved (I find this to be the case when someone isn't looking over my shoulder telling me what to do--something about the left and right sides of the brain clashing between the verbal left and visual right. Just read "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" by Betty Edwards.). It was because art is something I positively LOVE to do. I think maybe I went away from it for a while because I didn't know how I could help people with it. For some weird reason I tend to think that most things are a waste of time if they aren't directly helping someone. (By the way, when I put that sentence into words, I know it isn't true, but it's a part of my view on life.) But I've come to realize that even though my art may never save someone's life or feed the hungry or promote world peace (although it could!), it is simply something I need to do for me to be healthy. Because when all that creativity and desire for expression gets pent up inside of me, well, it ain't so pretty. So maybe art for me is like taking vitamins or exercising. It is something I almost need to do to really feel like me.

Can you relate? What to you just have to do to feel healthy that doesn't fall into the basic needs category?