being a “genius” versa having a “genius”…

Elizabeth Gilbert (author of the book, “Eat, Pray, Love“) muses about: “A different way to think about creative genius.” In her very funny, personal and moving talk she has some really important points that might keep us artists and “geniuses” (and everyone actually) sane, and even save some lives…

“Allowing somebody … to believe that he or she is … the essence and the source of all divine, creative, unknowable, internal mystery is just like a smidge of too much responsibility to put on one fragile human psyche,” she said. “It’s like asking somebody to swallow the sun. It just completely warps and distorts egos, and it creates all of these unnatural expectations about performance. I think the pressure of that has been killing off our artists for the last 500 years.”

“It all started when in the Renaissance mysticism was replaced by a belief that creativity came from the self. For the first time, people started referring to an artist as being a genius rather than having a genius.”

“If you never happen to believe in the first place that the most extraordinary aspects of your being [were created by you],” she said, you’d be better off. “Maybe if you just believe that they were on loan to you from some unimaginable source for some exquisite portion of your life, which you pass along when you’re finished to somebody else,” it would change everything.”