Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth GilbertMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Permission to write for the heck of it
This was a long, leisurely, meandering read for me. What I loved about it was the paradoxical way she made writing both sacred and mundane (something embodied in the last story she tells from Bali...but I won't spoil it for you). Writing is both divine and frivolous. I get it. Would I still write even if I never make a bestseller in my lifetime? Yes, I would. Because writing is a lovely thing. It *is* being touched by the divine...and yet it is also totally unnecessary. A poem is a privilege and a gift in a way a physical chair or even a dentist's appointment never would be. It is totally not practical, useless in a sense, and yet contains the meaning of life or at least the seed of it. I also love how she encourages creators to follow their curiosity and to put away the costume of "the tortured artist." Write for the pleasures of writing and don't feel guilty. Share it and move on. Perfect to share this during Valentine's weekend. Love is ephemeral and yet eternal. That's the same thing I can say of the creative life. Big magic. Tiny, beautiful thing.
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