You may not have an extra 20 minutes to watch this vid, but if you’re one of those people like me who thinks about the creative process, it’s worth the time. In this video, Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love talks about the shift in thinking about creativity from ancient times to now. The ancient Greeks thought of creativity as coming from a “genius.” Not a human, but a divine source referred to as a genius. Over time, creativity was attributed to an individual we refer to now as a genius. Big shift.
Elizabeth suggests that creative people would benefit from a shift back to the old model of thinking since creating can be attributed to a god-like quality. (Reminding me of a recent talk by Uchtdorf about creativity.)
She also pointed out an interesting piece of trivia. When the Turks invaded southern Spain, they brought with them a tradition of shouting “Allah!” when they saw an amazing performance, acknowledging that it came from god. Now, in Spain, you can often hear people shouting the derivation “olé!” for the same reason. Not a cooincidence.
I guess, in the end, it’s important to remember that all ideas do come from some external source, although we have to do our part to get them.
Wow Scott, thanks for passing this on. I am really touched by these thoughts. They make a link that pulls together some parts of my life and helps me understand. I’m passing this on to some of my closest artists. xoxo
Thanks for introducing me to TED. It is wonderful!