Sunday, January 24, 2010

Ted Link

Here's the link to the TED presentation by Elizabeth Gilbert:
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/elizabeth_gilbert_on_genius.html

Call to Creativity

Creativity is absolutely one of the components of full color living. This includes the obviously creative activities such as painting or writing, AND all the helpful, beautiful and innovative ways people can put things together.  

However, this example does concern writing. I recently started reading a book that has had a lot of buzz -- and success: Eat, Pray, Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert. It was buried in my reading pile, and finally made it to the top. Wow. She is my new favorite author. Gilbert writes with such touching honesty and evocative descriptions. Periodically, I have to stop to admire how she puts words together. Here's a few lines about her joyful consumption of pizza in Naples, Italy: "On top, there is a sweet tomato sauce that foams up all bubbly and creamy when it melts the fresh buffalo mozzarella, and the one sprig of basil in the middle of the whole deal somehow infuses the entire pizza with herbal radiance, much the same way one shimmering movie star in the middle of a party brings a contact high of glamour to everyone around her. It's technically impossible to eat this thing, of course. You try to take a bite off your slice and the gummy crust folds, and the hot cheese runs away like topsoil in a landslide, makes a mess of you and your surroundings, but just deal with it."

This novel is a memoir about a transformative period in Gilbert's life. Her voice is authentic. She has mastered her craft, and her personality shines through. Reading this book, I am first struck with the thought (accompanied by some measure of jealousy), "How does she do this???!!" and then I am able to acknowledge that this is her gift, and she is expressing, beautifully, her own unique creativity.

If 2010 is the year to include more creativity in your life, besides this book, I recommend  the lecture she gave on the topic at a TED conference. You will be inspired, encouraged and touched.