This is a lovely tune and an amazing performance. It starts with a Scottish (I presume) band with drums and bagpipe and then it’s a flute, a bagpipe and a symphony orchestra. Excellent!
Watch the video below or at Andre Rieu Amazing Grace
I’m not weird. I am limited edition.
I just finished Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert and I love it. The book is about creative living, regardless of what you’re creating. Whether you’re a writer, painter, photographer, do pottery or anything else this book is inspiring. The book description at The Book Depository says:
Readers of all ages and walks of life have drawn inspiration from Elizabeth Gilbert’s books for years. Now, this beloved author shares her wisdom and unique understanding of creativity, shattering the perceptions of mystery and suffering that surround the process – and showing us all just how easy it can be. By sharing stories from her own life, as well as those from her friends and the people that have inspired her, Elizabeth Gilbert challenges us to embrace our curiosity, tackle what we most love and face down what we most fear. Whether you long to write a book, create art, cope with challenges at work, embark on a long-held dream, or simply to make your everyday life more vivid and rewarding, Big Magic will take you on a journey of exploration filled with wonder and unexpected joys.
I love the book, how it’s written as well as Gilbert’s view on how creativity and ideas work. Much of the context is familiar but Gilbert uses storytelling (from her own life as well as others) to emphasize things and make her point. The five main parts in the book – courage, enchantment, permission, persistence and trust – cover all that’s essential.
The key things I got from the book was to rely on my curiosity, to write for myself, to get started (and keep going) because no one else will do my work.
I’m the kind of person that underline text that is important to me. Your mileage might vary, here are some of what I marked.
Creative living: I’m talking about living a life that is driven more strongly by curiosity than by fear.
The essential ingredients for creativity remain exactly the same for everybody: courage, enchantment, permission, persistence and trust.
Argue for your limitations and you get to keep them. (I needed that one…)
Bravery means doing something scary. Fearlessness means not even understanding what the word scary means
You are not required to save the world with your creativity. I would prefer that you made your art in order to save yourself rather than to save or relieve us. (I needed this one too…)
Perfectionism stops people from completing their work but even worse, it often stops people from beginning their work.
Gilbert writes about curiosity versus passion. Instead of chasing a passion (which might be hard to find), follow your curiosity. I love that, curiosity is a powerful tool.
Curiosity only ever asks one simple question: is there anything you’re interested in?
Instead of asking what you would do if you couldn’t fail Gilbert raises a far more interesing question:
What do you love doing so much that the words failure and success essentially become irrelevant?
Gilbert wrote “Done is better than good” and Seth Godin often talks about shipping (get things ready and deliver them). Even Buddha seems to share the same view.
An idea that is developed and put into action is more important than an idea that exists only as an idea.
Buddha
I suggest you take a look at Elizabeth Gilbert’s TED presentation about creativity, A different way to think about creative genius. If you like the content of that presentation then the book is for you.
Over at The Huffington Post is a post about the benefits of routines and rituals in order to get your writing done. Each of us create the rituals that suits us, routines are more generic and worth learning from others. The post list the following five routines and rituals:
1. Write Before I Do Anything Else (Routine)
2. Write 5 Days A Week, Minimum (Routine)
3. Release Fears, Doubts and Excuses On the Regular (Ritual)
4. Acting “As If” (Ritual)
5. Amping Up My Mindset (Ritual)
When we write during the day is personal, the benefit of doing it first thing in the morning is that it gets done before other cores take over. She writes “Put your writing first. It’s the only way.” but I disagree. There’s no only way, figure out what works for you. I like my current morning routine which means I need to fit my writing in somewhere else during the day.
Creating a consistent writing routine (and sticking to it) is gold. She writes “Figure out a writing routine you can stick with consistently every week and then commit to showing up.”
What I love under mindset is this: “I’m a writer. I came here to show up, shine and make a difference with my words.”
Read the full article at 5 Rituals and Routines That Changed My Writing Life.
I posted about Bad writing precedes good writing and here’s another statement along the same lines.
Show up, show up, show up and after a while the muse shows up too.
It goes well with Elizabeth Gilbert’s A different way to think about creative genius.
I posted about That elusive book of mine about a month ago. We have lots of ideas for topics but I haven’t done much actual writing. I got stuck with the idea that if I couldn’t write well then I shouldn’t write at all. Then this quote turned up and reminded we that practice makes perfect (or at least helps us get better at waht we’re doing). In other words, start writing and things will happen.
Bad writing precedes good writing. This is an infallible rule, so don’t waste time trying to avoid bad writing. (That just slows down the process.) Anything committed to paper can be changed. The idea is to start, and then go from there. – Janet Hulstrand
Seth Godin has a great post with “simple” questions for writers. The questions are these:
For the full post, go to Simple questions for writers.
I love the ending text: Writing can make a difference. Write to make a difference.
I came across an interesting article at Fast Company, So You Want Sustainable Housing? Try Shipping Containers. It’s about a Dutch startup converting used shipping containers into off-the-shelf, off-the-grid dwellings.
Dutch startup Sustainer Homes is attempting to eliminate at least some of the difficulty by producing the world’s first off-the-shelf, zero-impact dwelling. Set in a converted shipping container, the 323-square-foot space includes a bedroom, bathroom, full kitchen, and living room, all constructed from wood-free, Ecoboard panels. The entire thing costs $78,000, approximately $1,300 of which would be made up annually in heat and electricity savings. And because it’s completely self-contained, it can be shipped anywhere and set up in minutes.
Sustainer Homes writes this:
In the world of tomorrow, with its rising rents, sprawling cities, and dwindling resources, we’ll need housing that is much more independent, flexible, and sustainable than anything offered on the housing market of today. Sustainer Homes builds the world’s first fully off-grid, sustainable, and mobile container homes that require no sacrifices in living comfort. We believe we have designed a home of the future.
Here’s a list of the books I bought in September and the reasons why I bought them. I include book texts to give a hint of what the books are about. Reviews might (or might not) come later.
I bought “A Well Tempered Heart” by Jan-Philipp Sendker because I love his book “The Art of Hearing Heartbeats”.
Julia Win, a successful Manhattan lawyer, is at a crossroads in her life. Despite her wealth and privilege, she is exhausted and unhappy – a lost soul. She returns to Burma, the homeland of her father, where she encounters an anguished mother whose life is shattered when her two sons are called up from their rural village to fight in Burma’s civil war. Both women embark on their own journeys of self-discovery, experiencing heartbreak, horror, love and, ultimately, redemption. This mesmerising novel explores the most inspiring and passionate terrain of all: the human heart.
I bought “More Than Two: A Practical Guide to Ethical Polyamory” by Franklin Veaux and Eve Rickert based on a tip and my own curiosity. Polyamory is having several relationships at the same time. The tip said the book is a lot about relationships, valid whether you have one relationshp at a time or many. I’m also curious about polyamory.
The book includes questions at the end of each chapter which gives you a possibility to work on your own in addition to reading. I am right now at page 35 (of 469) and it’s a really interesting book. The book has a lot to give about what matters in relationships and how to make them work.
From Ancient Greece through the many dynasties of China to current practices of non-monogamy, people have openly engaged in multiple intimate relationships. Not until the late 20th century, however, was a word coined that encapsulated the practice: polyamory.In recent years, as more people have discovered polyamory as a legitimate option for their relationships, Franklin Veaux and his partner Eve Rickert saw a growing need for a comprehensive guide to the lifestyle.This wide-ranging resource explores living polyamorously?the nuances, the options, the myths and the expectations without judgment and with a good dose of humor. The authors share not only their hard-won philosophies about polyamory, but also their hurts and embarrassments. They underscore the importance of engaging in ethical polyamory and guide readers through the thorny issues of jealousy and insecurity, encouraging readers to work conscientiously on both their relationships and themselves.
I love Elizabeth Gilbert’s TED presentation about creativity, A different way to think about creative genius. That presentation is the main reason I bought “Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear” by Elizabeth Gilbert. I hope the book will both deepen and widen my knowledge about creativity as well as serve as an inspiration.
Readers of all ages and walks of life have drawn inspiration from Elizabeth Gilbert’s books for years. Now, this beloved author shares her wisdom and unique understanding of creativity, shattering the perceptions of mystery and suffering that surround the process – and showing us all just how easy it can be. By sharing stories from her own life, as well as those from her friends and the people that have inspired her, Elizabeth Gilbert challenges us to embrace our curiosity, tackle what we most love and face down what we most fear. Whether you long to write a book, create art, cope with challenges at work, embark on a long-held dream, or simply to make your everyday life more vivid and rewarding, Big Magic will take you on a journey of exploration filled with wonder and unexpected joys.
Quoted texts about the books are from The Book Depository.
I love books, browsing book stores in real life is a pleasure. Despite that I’m not an avid collector with lots of book on shelves. I’m picky which books I buy, it has to click in some way. My favourite online book store is The Book Depository. They have free shipping to many countries, including mine, which makes it easy to order one book at a time.
I prefer printed books. In non-fiction books I make notes when I find something interesting. It happens in novels as well, when something in the text really strikes a chord. I have many unread printed books, piled in a book shelf and some of them on tables.
There are almost 150 books in my Kindle library, most of them unread. The Kindle books are mostly non-fiction but include some novels. I get interesting books when they are for free or at a really low price.
About ten books are ones that I have in my reading process. I prefer to have several books going instead of focusing on just one. Another thing is that I am an irregular reader. That will change. Blogging about my new books will help me improve my reading habits. My goal is to read daily and to have maximum three books running parallel.
There’s no rush in catching up with my unread books. I want to get better reading habits in order to get wiser, to learn from the books I’ve bought. It often turns out that I learn things from novels too. There always seems to be a reason why I read a specific book.
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