I’ve been reading this book – Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert. In full disclosure, I don’t typically gravitate to books without a story line. I prefer fiction or creative nonfiction more so than books that talk about big ideas or schools of thought. I have enough big ideas swirling around in my head on a daily basis, I’d rather get lost in a good story, particularly a period piece, something poetic and descriptive. (With the exception of Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott!)
What I can tell you is that I like this book. I haven’t read it voraciously from cover to cover, but I do pick it up when I need a gentle nudge or a reminder that creativity is the answer to so many questions and is a worthy cause for which to live your life. I need those reminders frequently.
I just finished Section III: Permission, and this is my top takeaway:
“You do not need anybody’s permission to live a creative life.”
And this:
“Maybe you grew up in an environment where people just sat around watching TV and waiting for stuff to happen to them. Forget about it. It doesn’t matter.”
And lastly this:
“Go back far enough and you will find people who were not consumers, people who were not sitting around passively waiting for stuff to happen to them. You will find people who spent their lives making things.”
As a bit of a family historian, this all resonated. I hail from a long line of farmers who worked the land and had big families and settled in rural Pennsylvania, where most still reside. They came over from the UK and Western Europe and carved out a life for themselves. Now instead of growing fruit trees and bailing hay, we are a family of computer-screen-staring white and blue collar workers.
But some of those early relative traits remain. Before my grandfather passed, he and his green thumb sold plants, mums and pumpkins. My aunt and uncle’s backyard is something like a garden wonderland in the summer, and the salsas that are canned as a result of their efforts are delicious. We have a small patch of a raised bed garden here at my house too – tomato pie is a summertime staple. You see, some of it filters through.
And then there are the modern-day creativity trailblazers. I’m convinced everyone has a few in their family circle (or at least one). My sister, a self-proclaimed flow artist, gets lost inside a hula hoop. She does more with a hula hoop than I ever could do (which was never very much). She manages a crazy busy household and still makes time for what makes her happy. My cousin is a supporter, lover, and organizer of local music events and festivals. Summer is a busy time for that girl. And she dares greatly and lives boldly enough to hike portions of the Appalachian Trail by herself, spend a semester abroad, and sail with a small crew to Bermuda, not in that order. You see, it is there if you look for it – sometimes in small, subtle ways, sometimes in large, can’t-miss ways.
You might not even realize you have someone in your family who fits this description, but you do. That person might be you! It’s the holiday season and we will all likely be spending more time than normal with our families. This is a perfect time to learn more about your parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins… you know, all those dear ones who can drive you into therapy and also make your heart grow three sizes with sheer love, all at the same time.
Don’t have a family in the “traditional family” sense? First, I invite you to spend time with me and my family. And second, take a look at your handpicked family, your circle of friends. My friend Stephanie (from Craft Camp!) is really in her element when she is scuba diving, and that is just one way she chooses to live life creatively. My friend Carrie can do wonders with a paintbrush. My husband can build and fix almost anything. (His current project is a camper and you know that will be on the blog at some point.)
My rambling point is this: To be creative is to be human. Some of us are better at mining that gem than others. Look for it and you will see it. Practice it and you will experience it more and more in yourself.
Is anybody else reading Big Magic? Thoughts? Let’s talk!
p.s. Bonus points to the first person who finds where else I reference this book on the website!