I just watched Elizabeth Gilbert's TED talk about creative spirits and genius, and I thought it was really touching and funny. She talked about how in ancient Greece and Rome, people believed that spirits outside of humans were collaborators in the creative process. Daemons, also known as geniuses, would hang around and help you out. As she noted, it humbled the human because his work was not entirely his own. Also, if he screwed up and the work wasn't so great, it wasn't really his fault. Nice!
I won't spoil the rest of it in case you want to hear it in her own words. I like the way she talked about creative people having a potential "out," a way to circumvent the pressure our closest allies often lay on us, even if accidentally. Just show up - just do your part and screw it if it's not so great. Keep going. Next project. Don't worry if your best work is behind you, because there's no way to tell that something even more amazing won't happen.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment