Saturday, August 26, 2023
You have to revisit an idea often. In one moment it might feel like the best idea you’ve ever had, then the next day it feels like junk. But that’s the wonderful thing about ideas. They’re fragile. They need your gentle company. For any creative expression, you’re looking for the right feeling. Desperation is not one of them. For musicians and dancers, there is a point where you let go of the effort to become better. If you have a skilled basketball player that can shoot free-throw shots with 99% accuracy, and then put the pressure of the winning point on her shoulders – accuracy goes down.
You can only dig so far before you choke off the effortlessness of an idea. Sometimes it’s good to back away. It’s good to go do something else. The best ideas come when the mind doesn’t try, but gets still and allows the effervescent enthusiasm of creativity to bubble up naturally and playfully.
You cannot make an idea come, either. Ideas can’t be pushed around or forced. The deepest and most thoughtful ones are those that originate from contemplation. The greatest ideas sneak up on you. They itch a little bit, but if you try to scratch you push them down further. The best thing you could ever do is to stop wanting them. You have to get out of the way. Like all natural wonders, they will come on their own time. But you have to be vigilant, but not tense. You have to be ready, but not impatient. Good ideas come to the willing, the gentle, and the contemplative. If you’re in need of a good idea the best thing you can do is to relax and enjoy allowing them to gently waft up from the deepest part of your soul.