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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
A celebration of creativity and a life without fear to live creatively.
I love this book. I've always had the creative bone but have at times felt lost. Reading this book put so much into perspective for me and made things clearer. It's opened up how I feel about myself and my creativity. I want to buy this book to read again and highlight with a yellow marker the parts that made the biggest influence, so I don't forget them. Elizabeth has a wonderful writing style.
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
I recently read a book called Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert. I could connect with her writing in Eat Pray Love. I loved her portrayal of her vulnerabilities and strengths in all their rawness and I'd always wanted to read more from her. Big Magic is a recent release and it is about living a creative life. Since I love pursuing creativity through my writing (the reason why my blog exists!), I felt that I should give this book a try. Needless to say, I came out richer.
Richer in terms of gaining unique insights and a sense of buoyancy born out of self-assurance.
Richer in terms of trusting my weaknesses and letting them live alongside my strengths.
Richer in terms of feeling a bit less scared about holding out my messy insides (through my words) for the world to see.
This is a book for anyone who experiences a sense of fulfillment when they create things–be it writing, music, art, pottery, drama, gardening, or anything that requires their imagination.
You might ask me that there are countless books already on this subject, what is so special about this book?
Well, what I found unique in this book was that the author had spoken of the whole process of artistic pursuit in such a casual manner. Yes, this book allows you to have fun! This book tells you that art is not necessarily for those tragic geniuses whose legendary tales have almost made us apprehensive of leading creative lives.
That musician who died at thirty?
That poet who committed suicide?
That actor who died of a drug overdose?
Those are the images that come to our minds when we think of creative geniuses, right? Those pictures in turn intimidate us into thinking that if we become artists, the pressure of it all will crush us into smithereens of nothingness.
We are plagued by thoughts such as, we need to live a life full of tragedy, we need to do drugs or alcohol, or we need to have dysfunctional relationships with our loved ones. After all, if there's no pain how will the beauty of my soul be resplendent in my art work, right?
Wrong. Well, maybe it is right for some people but surprisingly there is a breed of artists who don't want to live the life of tragic geniuses. And guess what? The good news is, they don't need to! Because creativity is too generous to leave out anyone. You're invited to the party, only if you care to visit it!
Hence, there goes your invitation to the creative conference. Come one come all and join it to have fun! :) Enjoy yourselves and go back with a sense of fulfillment.
This is the central theme of the book. Creativity, basically, is for anyone who finds joy in creating!
However, please do not misunderstand Gilbert's intention. She never promises you that while having fun, you can also earn money! In fact, she herself had a regular job while she wrote her first four books! She only left her job after the stupendous success of Eat, Pray, Love. Just imagine! She only tries to make the readers understand that deep down we try doing things that make us happy. Money is something we all need but if the pursuit of wealth through our artwork hinders us from living a blissfully creative life, then it's better to keep a job as a security and not let the artistic endeavour meet an untimely death because of disillusionment.
And I felt at this juncture of my life, it was an essential lesson. You might find it helpful, too. So here goes her reasoning. She said that once we leave everything to pursue our art and it doesn't give us anything material in return, in the form of wealth, recognition, fame, we tend to feel that we're just withering away. The saddest thing is that the more we try choking the breath out of creativity by applying pressure on it to perform according to the world's whimsical standards, the lesser will creativity 'perform', the lesser will be the intensity of that desire to make things out of sheer love.
I agree. I'll tell you why. When I write my blog, I might not get anyone to read my posts, but still I will write because I love to write! Because that's my form of communicating with the Universe at large. Because that's my muse, my meditation and the very reason I feel alive. The moment you tell me that I don't have a job and I need to earn money doing this, do you know what will happen? I will start panicking–What if the world doesn't like my stuff? What if the world rejects me? What if I never get paid for anything again?
I can't imagine writing for my own pleasure about quirky, crazy, whimsical, fluffy things anymore! Because the underlying pressure would be too much for me to deliver! I truly respect people who can perform under such pressure, but I'd rather be the half-assed trickster than Gilbert mentions in her book. I'd rather play with my words and write because it gives me pleasure.
As she mentions, ART like a spiritual pursuit, where the ego need not be satisfied because, at the end of the day, we want to be happy doing whatever we're doing, right? So, I'm happy writing non-sense. Don't misunderstand me. It is not that I don't want to see my work published. Of course, I do! But please don't let that criteria stop me from dancing like a clown at the party and letting myself loose and having genuine fun. At the end of the day, I wish to feel fulfilled rather than die with sadness if my ego doesn't receive enough praises. So, I'd rather write for fun and ask you guys to follow any art/hobby you wish to, just because you're having the time of your life while you're at it! :)
I wrote this post on my blog, too. Elizabeth Gilbert Creates Magic Once Again!
Richer in terms of gaining unique insights and a sense of buoyancy born out of self-assurance.
Richer in terms of trusting my weaknesses and letting them live alongside my strengths.
Richer in terms of feeling a bit less scared about holding out my messy insides (through my words) for the world to see.
This is a book for anyone who experiences a sense of fulfillment when they create things–be it writing, music, art, pottery, drama, gardening, or anything that requires their imagination.
You might ask me that there are countless books already on this subject, what is so special about this book?
Well, what I found unique in this book was that the author had spoken of the whole process of artistic pursuit in such a casual manner. Yes, this book allows you to have fun! This book tells you that art is not necessarily for those tragic geniuses whose legendary tales have almost made us apprehensive of leading creative lives.
That musician who died at thirty?
That poet who committed suicide?
That actor who died of a drug overdose?
Those are the images that come to our minds when we think of creative geniuses, right? Those pictures in turn intimidate us into thinking that if we become artists, the pressure of it all will crush us into smithereens of nothingness.
We are plagued by thoughts such as, we need to live a life full of tragedy, we need to do drugs or alcohol, or we need to have dysfunctional relationships with our loved ones. After all, if there's no pain how will the beauty of my soul be resplendent in my art work, right?
Wrong. Well, maybe it is right for some people but surprisingly there is a breed of artists who don't want to live the life of tragic geniuses. And guess what? The good news is, they don't need to! Because creativity is too generous to leave out anyone. You're invited to the party, only if you care to visit it!
Hence, there goes your invitation to the creative conference. Come one come all and join it to have fun! :) Enjoy yourselves and go back with a sense of fulfillment.
This is the central theme of the book. Creativity, basically, is for anyone who finds joy in creating!
However, please do not misunderstand Gilbert's intention. She never promises you that while having fun, you can also earn money! In fact, she herself had a regular job while she wrote her first four books! She only left her job after the stupendous success of Eat, Pray, Love. Just imagine! She only tries to make the readers understand that deep down we try doing things that make us happy. Money is something we all need but if the pursuit of wealth through our artwork hinders us from living a blissfully creative life, then it's better to keep a job as a security and not let the artistic endeavour meet an untimely death because of disillusionment.
And I felt at this juncture of my life, it was an essential lesson. You might find it helpful, too. So here goes her reasoning. She said that once we leave everything to pursue our art and it doesn't give us anything material in return, in the form of wealth, recognition, fame, we tend to feel that we're just withering away. The saddest thing is that the more we try choking the breath out of creativity by applying pressure on it to perform according to the world's whimsical standards, the lesser will creativity 'perform', the lesser will be the intensity of that desire to make things out of sheer love.
I agree. I'll tell you why. When I write my blog, I might not get anyone to read my posts, but still I will write because I love to write! Because that's my form of communicating with the Universe at large. Because that's my muse, my meditation and the very reason I feel alive. The moment you tell me that I don't have a job and I need to earn money doing this, do you know what will happen? I will start panicking–What if the world doesn't like my stuff? What if the world rejects me? What if I never get paid for anything again?
I can't imagine writing for my own pleasure about quirky, crazy, whimsical, fluffy things anymore! Because the underlying pressure would be too much for me to deliver! I truly respect people who can perform under such pressure, but I'd rather be the half-assed trickster than Gilbert mentions in her book. I'd rather play with my words and write because it gives me pleasure.
As she mentions, ART like a spiritual pursuit, where the ego need not be satisfied because, at the end of the day, we want to be happy doing whatever we're doing, right? So, I'm happy writing non-sense. Don't misunderstand me. It is not that I don't want to see my work published. Of course, I do! But please don't let that criteria stop me from dancing like a clown at the party and letting myself loose and having genuine fun. At the end of the day, I wish to feel fulfilled rather than die with sadness if my ego doesn't receive enough praises. So, I'd rather write for fun and ask you guys to follow any art/hobby you wish to, just because you're having the time of your life while you're at it! :)
I wrote this post on my blog, too. Elizabeth Gilbert Creates Magic Once Again!
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Thoroughly enjoyed this book! I loved how the author narrates her work, it made it feel that much more genuine! I am a writer whose first novel is a WIP, and if you are in the same boat, I highly recommend taking the time to read this book. I love how Gilbert linked fear into the creative process and the way she described its relationship to creativity. I love the bit about music being decorate jewelry for the inside of the brain, and how once an artist releases their work out into the work, it really belongs to the people receiving it. I found it interesting how Gilbert described art and its role in the world, as well as the tortured artist. I enjoyed Gilbert’s writing style and will definitely read more of her work in the future.
i read this 7 years ago and gave it 2 stars! nice to revisit and realize how much of it i’ve held onto since then. it is not a 2 star book. i love jack and elizabeth gilbert
It's been years since I have read Eat Pray Love but I remember being left with the feeling, "this person GETS me." Now, having read my second Elizabeth Gilbert book, I am left with the same exact feeling.
I used to write all the time when I was a teenager, venting my anxiety and angst out with my pen. Over the years, my writing has slipped away to being non existent. Now that I have two kids to chase around and no time to sit. This book has changed my view by teaching me that if it is important to me, I will find a way.
I would suggest this book to anyone who has ever been a writer or is a writer currently. In fact, you don't have to be a writer - just someone who lives creatively.
I used to write all the time when I was a teenager, venting my anxiety and angst out with my pen. Over the years, my writing has slipped away to being non existent. Now that I have two kids to chase around and no time to sit. This book has changed my view by teaching me that if it is important to me, I will find a way.
I would suggest this book to anyone who has ever been a writer or is a writer currently. In fact, you don't have to be a writer - just someone who lives creatively.
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced