A review by leviofmichigan
The Writing Life: Ideas and Inspiration for Anyone Who Wants to Write by Julia Cameron

challenging funny informative inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced

4.0

I mostly really appreciated hearing the perspectives shared, especially where the two artists differed in ways of thinking. However, there was this moment, right at the end, where Cameron gets the last word, and essentially says, "No, I don't really see things as impermanent, I think everything lasts." But if Goldberg had been able to respond, I think she would have pointed out that Buddhism, yes, is full of Dharma on impermanence, but that's only because our society is more on the side of permanence. The deeper truth that Buddhism always points to is non-duality, which means, for this topic, that the world is not permanent OR impermanent, but there is some balance between the two, both can be true at the same time. Even just the examples that Cameron shares, ie her ancestors living through her, are types of things I've heard in Dharma talks. Buddhism can sound very heady and philosophical, but one of the things I think Buddhism seeks to do is teach us how to see the world like children, and the difficult thing is staying in that pose, not getting to it, or wrapping your mind around enough concepts to become enlightened.