Over the summer, I pinned this quote from Hemingway. I have always been a fan of his. Sure he was a wild and crazy soul that may have verged on narcissistic, but his wild ways led him to places that I resonate with just as he did.
I read a Moveable Feast this past spring, and it brought back all the amazing bits from our time in Paris a few years back. Hemingway’s sister owned a home just down the road from my dad when he was growing up in Northern Michigan. When he came to visit his sister, spent a lot of time near Harbor Springs. In fact, there is a statue of him in town and a bar in Petoskey has a historical marker on it because it was where he grabbed a drink regularly. Clearly both Hemingway and I loved Michigan and Paris, obviously I figure from this connection that he has to be a pretty great person. To put the cherry on top, he writes some of the most well-known literature we know of today. He is infamous for being unapologetic for how he lived. He chased what he loved and though slightly jaded and drunk at times, he has lived on as an inspiration for the adventurous, go-getter, creative out there.
That said, I think this quote is a good reminder on a Monday. Forget that to-do list sitting in front of you. Yeah, I have one too. Instead, let’s take time today to remember a time where we felt romanced by inspiration or where we felt taken by the world around us. Do you remember a moment like that? A creative life isn’t always about knocking things from a list or achieving goals. If you are anything like us, you get caught up in the process of succeeding by things such as press, paychecks, and accolades to feel qualified in some way. Those things are good, but fully living a creative life is about letting those things be second or even last on your list. Instead, if we remember that a creative life is about creating, playing, exploring, discovering, and questioning, we will find things that fulfill us perfectly. Yes, there are dozens of emails to answer, but your success at those jobs waiting your inbox depends on you living your creative life fully and not just focusing on the success. Those will come when you are the inquisitive and crazy creative you are that got you thus far. Don’t lose sight of her/him.
Find time to have fun and let go of the list of things you need to get done. Your creativity is your greatest asset, preserve it by letting it explore, do nothing, go wild, be let loose. Happy Monday friends.
