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Irish actress Jessie Buckley has won a Critics Choice Award for her role in the acclaimed film "Hamnet," which tells the imagined story of family and loss as the primary driver behind William Shakespeare's "Hamlet." In her acceptance speech, Buckley shared an anecdote from her brother's recent visit to the famous caves at Lascaux, France, which are the site of the first known example of art created by human hands. She shares how he noted that the drawings aren't near the entrance to the cave, the only source of daylight, but rather in the deeper, darker, less accessible areas.

"...these first-ever humans, first-ever artists, decided to go with fire and minerals into the darkest part of the cave to tell their stories."

Buckley then credits Hamnet director Chloe Zhao for helping her create art from her character's deepest, darkest grief:  "...you have reminded me of the power of telling a story and the journey that you can go on to touch the deepest parts of what it is to be alive."

The point is so profound:  the human ability to bear witness and create beauty -- that is, make art -- from the deepest darkest parts of our lives is as old as humanity itself. It IS our humanity, to use creativity to express and process emotion. Creativity is the well by which we tap into our emotions and our inner selves.

The metaphors are endless, but the lesson is unchanged:  that we NEED creativity, just as we need air, water, food, love and learning. Creative pursuits are paramount to the pursuit of happiness, perhaps. It's not a stretch that the framers of the Constitution considered this philosophical idea when they made freedom of speech the first amendment. Because we need freedom of expression more than anything else that adds structure to our lives.

I've not yet seen "Hamnet" but I know the film, its story, and its message of creating from pain and grief and crushing heartbreak will stay with me for a long time.