If you read my blog with any regularity you know that I am a champion of creativity and creative types, offering encouragement to all manner of artists, whether they are writers, painters, poets, dancers, sculptors, et al, or people whose creativity (or inner artist) has not yet found an outlet.
Below is an excerpt from a book I am currently reading by Lewis Hyde entitled The Gift: Creativity and the Artist in the Modern World. It is one of the great Lewis Hyde quotes. See if it resonates with you.
The art that matters to us– which moves the heart, or revives the soul, or delights the senses, or offers courage for living, however we choose to describe the experience– that work is received by us as a gift is received. Even if we have paid a fee at the door of the museum or concert hall, when we are touched by a work of art something comes to us which has nothing to do with the price. I went to see a landscape painter’s works, and that evening, walking among pine trees near my home, I could see the shapes and colors I had not seen the day before. The spirit of an artist’s gifts can wake our own. Our sense of harmony can hear the harmonies that Mozart heard. We may not have the power to profess our gifts as the artist does, and yet we come to recognize, and in a sense to receive the endowments of our being through the agency of his/her creation. We feel fortunate, even redeemed: the gift revives the soul. When we are moved by art we are grateful that the artist lived, thankful that she labored in the service of her gifts.
Are you laboring in the service of your gifts? Have you experienced art lately that revived your soul, delighted your senses, or offered you courage for living? If so, I’d love to hear from you.
P.S. I am an ex-shrink who writes award-winning novels. Check out my books here.
> Are you laboring in the service of your gifts?
Every day.
> Have you experienced art lately that revived your soul, delighted your
> senses, or offered you courage for living?
His name is Beethoven, and I have been experiencing him since I was 13.
Good for you, John. How many people can say they labor in the service of their gifts every day?! Quite impressive.
I like Beethoven, too. I was a music major in college and we would have these drop the record needle tests (okay, so it was a while ago) where you had to name the composer and the piece of music you were listening to. Beethoven was one of the easier ones. It was pure excellence.
A lot of times my subscribers simply email me back with their comments. I will post a couple I received, without the names, in case they want to stay anonymous.
What a beautiful and inspiring posting, Susan. I’m pasting it in the front of my copy book, a significant reminder of the gifts we receive every day if we open our eyes, ears, souls to them. Creativity is life at it’s most significant level, isn’t it? ………………………J.
Susan, I was lying in bed last night after reading a few more pages in Wayne Dyer’s Excuses Begone. I had finished a piece about surrounding oneself with the symbols that are and remind us of love…a bouquet of flowers, family photos, art, and so forth. I was appreciating how much the flowers on my bedside table (Oriental Lilies) and their aroma spoke to me of love, the brilliant and vibrant Haitian painting, a photograph of Jim and me, all coincide to vibrate love….your blog this morning reminded me of this….thank you…
Don’t I have the most amazing readers and friends? I am grateful for each and every one of you.