Inspiration
“Let
people have their opinions. More than that—let people love their opinions, just
as you and I are in love with ours. Never delude yourself into believing that
you require someone else’s blessing (or even their comprehension) in order to
make your own creative work. And always remember that people’s judgements about
you are none of your business.”
Elizabeth
Gilbert (Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear)
Big
Magic is my favorite of Elizabeth Gilbert’s books. In it she tells the story
of how she writes, of how inspiration comes and does whatever is necessary to
get her attention. She views inspiration as a separate and distinct entity rather
than simply part of her personal psyche. It comes to her from every angle and
through every means at its disposal—hunches, prodding thoughts, flashes of
memory, her senses, and through new and different experiences. My image for her
inspiration is a little like Tinker Bell in the Peter Pan story. It keeps sprinkling
her with pixie dust until she can’t ignore it.
The
thing that most often blocks our access to inspiration is fear of other people’s
judgements. I wish I had a dollar for every time my mother asked me, “What will
people think, Jane?” I never knew who she meant. Who on earth had the time, let
alone the interest to notice what we did? Just “people,” that nebulous mass of
humanity, I suppose. What I do know is that it stopped her from living her life
fully because it was the boundary that circumscribed everything she did. Other
people’s judgements—that imaginary and arbitrary perimeter to what is permitted.
I wonder whether you can relate to that.
I’m not
promoting immorality or self-abuse or anything else that negatively impacts oneself
or others. What I am promoting is listening to your inner urging and inspiration
and following through with what it shows you. Do it because it is what you are
here on planet Earth to do—what this lifetime is all about. We aren’t here to
amass a fortune, or wield power, or control and manipulate others. We are here
to fulfill the yearning of our own soul. What other people think about that is
their business and speaks more about them than about you or me.
People will have opinions—I
certainly do—that is part of their process. We have no right to attempt to
change them or their opinions—yet we do it all the time. What’s that all about?
Do we feel rejected if someone does not agree with us? Do we feel invalidated
by their dissent? These are questions I ask myself, and now, I’m asking you.
Why do other people’s opinions matter more than the desire of your soul to
fulfill its purpose? Inspiration means, literally, to in-spirit—to bring spirit
into your work and your life. That’s a good thing, right?
In the Spirit,
Jane
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