Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Creative Genius of Elizabeth Gilbert: Letting it Flow

I was so blown away by Elizabeth Gilbert's (yes she is the author of that smash-hit Eat, Pray, Love) recent TED talk. For those of you not familiar with TED, you will want to check them out.  TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from those three worlds. Since then its scope has become ever broader.

The annual conference now brings together the world's most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes). (TED offers a free nifty iPhone app for all you iPhone users out there)

After reading this description of Elizabeth's lecture, I just knew I must check it out.

Elizabeth Gilbert: A different way to think about creative genius
Elizabeth Gilbert muses on the impossible things we expect from artists and geniuses -- and shares the radical idea that, instead of the rare person "being" a genius, all of us "have" a genius. It's a funny, personal and surprisingly moving talk.




It is going on 24 hours since I watched this clip, and it is still periodically popping into my consciousness.  I have a feeling this will stay with me for a long time. I love her idea that we just need to show up. We can release expectations of grandeur, perfection, or creative genius, and all that is asked is that we show up and offer what we have today.

Probably not my best blog, or my most profound thought, but I am showing up, sharing what has touched me, letting go and letting it flow.

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