Humanity restored (The creative act)
I started reading The Creative Act by Rick Rubin as part of the indieweb book club. [...]
(There used to be more here but I gutted it because it was too personal) (The quicker is that I was talking about my struggles on focusing and truly doing my work, while trying to reframe The Creative Act through those lenses) (It's just not for you)
I started reading The Creative Act because I want to reconnect with my works. And I feel like I'm ready to start reconnecting.
It's not magic. Reading this book will not solve your problems. There is no magic word or piece of information that will make you whole. Neither secret knowledge that will make you understand it.
But I think of it as someone getting at your level and being real with it. I have never been told that this path would hurt as much as it does. But here, someone gets it. Most importantly, someone that helps me remember the fun parts of this, that make it wort the pain.
What comes next are some of the points that stuck with me while reading. It's in disorder so I ordered it in an unordered list.
- Curiosity. I think this is the driving force of fun in my work while doing it. This of beginner mindset, of kid mentality. Its like white noise really, because everyone has something to say about this, and everyone agrees that it's something you need. Signals and noise that lose meaning the more you read it. But Rick's book is ALL about this. Almost all of the chapters are directly related to cultivating this mindset. Cultivating. It's something that has to grow, and that must be protected. Like a garden, you take care of the soil, and let the plants grow. You have to take care of creating the conditions that make art possible, and then let things happen.
- Being a buddha is easy. Just keep awake at all times. I also don't remember from who's this quote (commonplace notebook incoming), but it's relevant. There are times of hyper awareness of your surroundings with little to none intervention of your ego. That's being awake. It's an amazing state to be in, but so hard to cultivate and stay. This mentality is important for creating. Doing things is hard by itself, it's harder if you berate yourself along the way.
- Great expectations. I have read this over and over again. Along with self doubt and beginner's mind.
- Doing things and showing them helps. From the beginning. It helps because at the beginning it's acceptable to think "this is bad". Because it's the beginning, "it's supposed to be bad". Once you get some work into it, then it gets harder because now it's supposed to not be bad. Both of those labels are unhelpful, but if you are stuck with them, then there is so much you can do. Showing things to the world and getting feedback helps a lot in my case.
- Your work gets through your hand. It gets your label and your unique vision. This is important because no other two persons do the same thing, even while doing it. (Just ask Pierre Menard, author of El Quixote xd)
- Do your work or not. Both are fine. It's just that I rather do it than not. But don't put pressure on it. Let it grow.
I guess the thing I rescue the most is that this work is about the relationship one has with art. With what one does as art. And some writing about staying in the state that makes art possible.