Why living a creative life isn't always about creating
Lessons from Liz Gilbert, Rick Rubin, Sally Rooney & Gilmore Girls
I moved to Paris to follow the wind
And his promise that a new chapter would begin.
He caressed my ear, and whispered "My dear,
A million lives and deaths will await you here.”
— Second stanza of City of Lights by Jenny Tâm Thai, 2024
And here we are, amidst a new Scorpio season. I’ve noticed a pattern of how this time of the year normally marks an uptick in energy for me in a very intense and potent kind of way. Who knows, this might be just nature’s call to gear up before easing into a slow and idle winter.
How are you doing, my creative and mindful friends? Have you taken a moment lately to check in with yourself, and your mind and body? As I’m writing these words, I’m just only recovering from a nagging cold.
I don’t know about you but for me, October has been rather intense. Most definitely intense on my mind but especially on my body. It felt like a forced pause button was pressed in order for some things to finally conclude and others to be purified and awakened. If you’re familiar with Tarot cards, to me this last month was the incarnation of the Death card. Different ends and new beginnings.
Apart from getting knocked out by some health setbacks during the latter part of the month, here are some other things that have kept me busy during this autumnal time:
I completed a Yoga Nidra training (and I’m excited to be sharing some practices with you soon!)
I had a leak in my kitchen that took over 3 weeks to be repaired (if you’re questioning ‘why’ I’m guessing you’re not residing in France :))
I learned that a chimney sweep is called a ramoneur in French and I might or might not have gotten scammed by one (en bref, I got sold a service that I was told I needed but possibly didn't actually need - whether that’s true or not is unclear for many reasons. Either way, there’s less soot in my chimney now and less money in my bank account..)
I officially signed up for my C1 DALF exam in December (in case you’re wondering, all this fun is setting me back 250€..)
I watched the entire 7 seasons of Gilmore Girls + their A Year in the Life revival (all in French may I add, because why feel guilty when you can feel productive)
I read Sally Rooney’s Beautiful World, Where Are You? (A wonderful read but I still recommend Normal People (both the book and the series) over anything else in case you are unfamiliar!)
I re-read one of my all-time favourite books about creativity - Liz Gilbert’s Big Magic (in French!)
I re-read and finished Rick Rubin’s The Creative Act: A Way of Being (a gem that I left half-read on my bookshelf for way too long)
Admittedly, there isn’t too much on the creation front to share with you. And that is not because I felt lazy, creatively blocked, or uninspired. But rather, this just wasn’t the right phase for me to be actively creating. In fact, if there’s one thing that I got reminded of by consuming all the things I have exposed myself to this past month, it’s that this is a natural part of the creative process.
In the most simplest terms, when it comes to a creative project, there is an input phase and an output phase. The input phase is where we gather information, inspiration, and experiences. We are out there living life in the real world. The output phase is when we get to work. It’s when we retreat and relentlessly pour all that we have carefully gathered into a chosen project that acts as a vessel for our sentiments.
Both phases are equally important because, at the end of the day, true art-making is about nothing other than self-expression. It’s a glimpse of a moment frozen in time reflecting your inner landscape. A manifestation of what you’ve seen, felt, heard, and experienced.
All the aforementioned books and series confirm that idea. Let me elaborate.
Rick Rubin, for instance, believes that being creative is a state of being. What makes you an artist is, in fact, the way you go about your everyday life while engaging in the act of paying attention. What are your surroundings like? What do you feel? How do you feel about the way you feel? In what ways do you relate or not relate to your surroundings? That’s the core of the input phase. From there, the output phase is the art of decoding what you’ve been given to work with and expressing that with whatever skills you’ve been developing.
Liz Gilbert has consciously decided against studying creative writing and, instead, chose to major in political sciences. Why? Because she was convinced that this is not where and how you learn how to write. Her path of self-study, instead, consisted of a) choosing her own teachers by analysing and studying work from people she admired and b) letting the world be her greatest teacher and inspiration. Be it through curious encounters, working odd jobs, or travelling. And let’s not forget, the latter inspired her bestseller Eat, Pray, Love - a memoir recounting her personal experience.
Sally Rooney consistently writes against the backdrop of Ireland and the many beautiful yet strange ways of human connections. I admire the way in which she develops her characters and explores their flaws, all measured against the socially accepted ideas of a normal relationship. Instead of moving to a big city or travelling the world, what she is doing so brilliantly is simply drawing from her personal experiences of living in Ireland. A profound practice of observing life and its manyfold experiences. We don’t need to live an outrageous or sumptuous life in order to craft beautiful stories or create meaningful things.
Lastly, I love how the Gilmore Girls revival concludes with Jess nudging Rory to write a book about the special relationship she has with Lorelai. In his words:
"You need to find something to write that you're passionate about. (...) You just gotta find that thing that makes you feel, so your readers can feel it. (...) I know what you should write about. You should write about you and your mom. It's a cool story. It's got a point of view. It's something only you can write."
A mother-daughter relationship and a friendship in one, facing the odds of life together. Of course, that is the premise of the original series, which gives it a nice full-circle moment (plus the last little surprise the writers threw us in the last scene..). I sincerely love the criteria he mentions - something with passion, something that makes you feel, something that only you can write about.
One of the biggest lessons to keep in mind when it comes to art-making, in whatever shape or form that may be, is that there is never any meaningful competition at play. Why? Because only you are able to express what you need to express.
And notice how none of these ideas have be revolutionary or grand, none of them necessarily have the intention of teaching you something specific - all they are is simply a way of making sense of that marvellous thing called human life.
So I encourage you, take inventory of your life and pay close attention to your experience of things. Find moments of stillness to understand and discern all that comes up for you. Honour and trust the passive phase of the creative process. And then, put yourself to work and find a way to express everything single nuance of all that you’ve been experiencing.
Journaling prompts
What is something that only you can write about or create based on your personal story and background?
What stories do you find yourself telling over and over again, especially when you meet new people?
What 3-5 events are emblematic of your life and the person you are today?
What was the most inspiring or curious encounter you’ve had in your life?
Stay warm & creative,
J x