Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
Kindle & Audible: US or CA
Morning Readers & Happy Friday!
I have to say, I was absolutely entranced listening to Elizabeth Gilbert narrate her book ‘Big Magic’. I’ve never actually read ‘Eat, Pray, Love’, and I’d never heard about any of her other books, but this one found me, right when it was supposed to, and I can’t imagine falling any more in love with her other books than I did this one.
In Big Magic, Elizabeth Gilbert explores the nature of creativity and how to live a more inspired, fulfilling life by embracing curiosity and letting go of fear. Blending personal stories, practical advice, and reflections on the creative process, she encourages readers to view creativity as a magic that is nearly alive itself.
The book offers insights into how to approach creative work with openness rather than perfectionism or self-doubt. Gilbert argues that ideas are living entities seeking collaborators, and that the best way to nurture them is through play, discipline, and willingness to fail.
Her narrative style is so lyrical it nearly comes out as meditative, and has had me sitting in the car just to finish a chapter in many instances. I think my favorite take away was that idea that ‘it doesn’t matter’ but what does matter are the pieces of you that you give to your work to make it whole. The fact that ‘none of this matters’ is in fact giving you the opportunity to give it your all without the fear of failing.
A few of my favourite quotes:
“Because Creative Living is where Big Magic will always abide… creative living is a path for the brave… when courage dies, creativity dies with it.”
“My fear was not original in the least, my fear wasn’t some kind of rare artisanal object. It was just a mass produced item, available on the shelves of any generic box store. And that’s the thing I wanted to build my entire identity around? The most boring instinct I possessed? The panic reflect of my dumbest inner tadpole? No.
“You’re fear will always be triggered by your creativity because creativity asks you to enter into realms of uncertain outcome and fear hates uncertain outcome. Your fear programmed by evolution …will always assume that any uncertain outcome is destined to end in a bloody horrible death.”
“Her will is titanium and her talents vast”
“Human beings have been creative beings for a really long time, long enough and consistently enough that it appears to be a totally natural impulse… the earliest evidence of recognizable human art is 40,000 years old, the earliest evidence of human agriculture… is only 10,000 years old. Which means that somewhere in our collective evolutionary story we decided that it was more important to make attractive superfluous items than it was to learn how to regularly feed ourselves”
“You will never be able to create anything interesting out of your life if you don’t believe that you’re entitled to at least try… creative entitlement simply means believing that you are allowed to be here, and that merely by being here you are allowed to have… a voice of your own”
“Once my book entered into her hands, after all, everything about it belonged to her, and never again to me.”
“Learning how to endure your disappointment and frustration is part of the job of a creative person.”
“Meanwhile putting forth work that is far from perfect, rarely stops men from participating in the global cultural conversation. I don’t say this as a criticism of men, by the way, I like that feature in men. Their absurd over-confidence, the way that they will casually decide ‘well I’m 41% qualified for this task so give me the job’. …A man who seems not ready for the task, not good enough for the task somehow grows immediately into his potential through the wild leap of faith itself. I only wish more woman would risk these same kinds of wild leaps.”
“Do you love writing I ask… do you believe writing loves you in turn?”
“They quit just when things are starting to get interesting. Which is to say, they quit as soon as things aren’t easy anymore. As soon as it gets painful or boring or agitating. They quit as soon as they see something in their minds that scares them or hurts them. So they miss the good part, the wild part, the transformative part, the part when you push past the difficulty and enter into some raw new unexplored universe within yourself. and maybe its like that with every important aspect of your life, whatever it is you are pursuing, whatever it is you are seeking, whatever it is you’re creating, be careful not to quit soon…. don’t rush through the experiences and circumstances that have the most capacity to transform you. Don’t let go of your courage the moment things stop being easy… because that’s the moment when ‘interesting’ begins.”
This is one of those books that I will absolutely be listening to again, something to bring me back to the table when I get in a funk and feel like I’m loosing momentum. It really felt like a universe intervention, and was especially uncanny when she quotes a ‘friend named Robin who teaches botany’, and the very next book I pick up just so happens to be Braiding Sweetgrass…. by Robin Kimmerer.
Maybe it’s just chance, but maybe it’s some Big Magic. ;)
Happy Reading!
-Anna R.
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Kindle & Audible: US or CA
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