Spot On: Elizabeth Gilbert on Nurturing Creativity

The Salonierre shares this video on SheWrites.com. Another round of applause for Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat Pray Love author, for hitting me on the spot again in less than 2 weeks.

Her talk liberates me and puts me into a calm thinking rhythm as this Friday almost comes to a close in 50 minutes. The afternoon passed pretty quickly and I am happy because I feel that I can breathe a little bit easier right now. She's pointed out quite a few things I really resonated with, like the usual judgments given to artists in search of their muse. The struggle of emotional stability when fighting for the creative genius to stay afloat. The tension between wading in purely creative seeking activities and having to be in a stable job to earn a living.

Yes, she hits the point the right there because that's where I am. Yet she says it ever so gracefully that you do not feel invalidated for being in that arduous struggle. You are in fact affirmed for struggling and keeping up with the struggle. As she says,

And what I have to, sort of keep telling myself when I get really psyched out about that, is, don't be afraid. Don't be daunted. Just do your job. Continue to show up for your piece of it, whatever that might be. If your job is to dance, do your dance. If the divine, cockeyed genius assigned to your case decides to let some sort of wonderment be glimpsed, for just one moment through your efforts, then "Ole!" And if not, do your dance anyhow. And "Ole!" to you, nonetheless. I believe this and I feel that we must teach it. "Ole!" to you, nonetheless, just for having the sheer human love and stubbornness to keep showing up.

I had quite a long interesting exchange with Ken Wade this afternoon as he comments on my post Letters to Sylvia (ii) (I do a mirror post on Inked-In).

Yesterday morning, I decided to write letters to Sylvia Plath as a way to exercise my ability to respond creatively by replying to what she has written in her journals. I was struggling with anxiety yesterday morning for not being able to find that creative outlet to describe what I was exactly going through. I realized that I find it easier to write when I am writing letters to people. Adi said that my letters seem to be filled with a more energy than my blog posts or when I'm writing to "an audience". Writing letters feel more focused and it unearths a lot more truth because I am directing my thoughts to someone who I know will probably resonate with what I am saying. This gives off a different vibe as compared to writing to an "unknown audience".

It just suddenly occurred to me, that it would be an interesting experience to write to Ms. Plath (however morbid that may seem, I find it helping me deal with the realities of struggling with a creative life).

So here I am finally getting a rhythm again and I hope it lasts me throughout another week. I am grateful that Sylvia Plath and Elizabeth Gilbert has found their way into my world and been my virtual mentors at this stage of my life. Oh and of course, I cannot forget Ken Wade and his fatherly advise throughout the past few days that has helped me keep persevering in my relationship with my pen.