Big Magic, Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert
Today, I'd love to share one book in particular with you.
I absolutely love this book. For all the creatives out there, this book is a must read - whether you're a designer, baker, ceramic artist or architect, I highly recommend it. In fact, it's for anyone, really - I believe everyone's a creative at heart.
In primary school, I remember that my teacher wanted to prove a point: that everyone's different. I can't recall his name but he made each of us draw an umbrella on a piece of A4 paper. We aren't allowed to look at what others drew except work on our own umbrella drawing. As expected, everyone drew different things. For me however, the big revelation isn't that everyone's different - it is: everyone's creative. We all drew an umbrella as told without hesitation, we didn't say "But I can't draw", "I don't want to, cause it'll turn out bad" or "I'm not creative enough to do anything wildly remote to that". Thing is, that's what we say all the time when we get older.
What I'm trying to say is - We all have it in us; god damn it! Being confident in our abilities to execute creative thinking, it just so happens that perhaps "what we think are expected of us" or "what we expect ourselves to be" changed as we grew up. We become more aware of what others think and perhaps, fearful of being inadequate or not being "creative enough", which to be honest, it’s an inevitable thought, no doubt. We are after all, human.
This is also why, I believe in the act of playing. It is paramount or as I would like to argue, an essential pre-requisite, to creative work. It engages in the power of the subconscious mind, which draws deeper than any conscious thought would. But before I ramble on with my other 101 branching thoughts, I guess I'll just leave you with a quote from the author.
You are worthy, dear one, regardless of the outcome. You will keep making your work, regardless of the outcome. You will keep sharing your work, regardless of the outcome. You were born to create, regardless of the outcome. You will never lose trust in the creative process, even when you don't understand the outcome.
- Elizabeth Gilbert
Again, highly recommend you check this book out if you haven't already. You'll gain tons of insights and be reaffirmed that sometimes not okay is perfectly okay.
Much love,
Leah