Some BIG MAGIC and a dash of COVID
“A creative life is an amplified life. It’s a bigger life, a happier life, an expanded life, and a hell of a lot more interesting life. Living in this manner—continually and stubbornly bringing forth the jewels that are hidden within you—is a fine art, in and of itself.” - Elizabeth Gilbert
When I started reading BIG MAGIC I felt as though I had discovered my new found religion. Elizabeth Gilbert was Jesus and she was asking me to become one of her new found disciples. The moment she said “You must learn how to become a deeply disciplined half-ass. Be the weirdo who dares to enjoy!” I instantly sold my dog and my car on Facebook marketplace and booked the first flight outta here to be with my master in the US of A. OBVIOUSLY thattsa lie! I am still very much at my studio desk. I shall just quietly inside my head and in my actions be a ‘Big Magic’ disciple moving forward, and I invite you to join along.
“Are you considering becoming a creative person? Too late, you already are one. To even call somebody “a creative person” is almost laughably redundant; creativity is the hallmark of our species. We have the senses for it; we have the curiosity for it; we have the opposable thumbs for it; we have the rhythm for it; we have the language and the excitement and the innate connection to divinity for it.” Big Magic.
I can very easily get excited and amped up about most things, but never on this level. There has only ever been one other book that turned my life upside down in this way, The Celestine Prophecy. Both these books ignited something in my soul that aligned with what I believe on a deeper level. And I had no idea I had felt this away until I was ripping through their pages at lighting speed followed with multiple yelps of “FARRRK YES!” or ‘Prrreeaccchhh sis preach!.” The only way I can describe it, is a combination of excitement that you have been given the key to easing your life happenings, but also frustration that NO ONE TOLD YOU ABOUT THIS SCRIPT EARLIER! I have been yelling at everyone I come in social distance contact with, telling them that their life won’t have meaning unless this book is read RIGHT NOW. I even told my 73 year old male mechanic the other day he should give them both a thorough go-over.
Elizabeth’s “philosophy of creativity, in which ideas have willpower and are delivered to patient human beings in the correct state of mind. Throughout “Big Magic,” Gilbert glosses over the hardest parts of creative living — not just being terrified, but handling rejection and doubt, and doing the work no matter what. Big Magic” wants to help its readers live creatively, which does not necessarily mean “pursuing a life that is professionally or exclusively devoted to the arts,” but “living a life that is driven more strongly by curiosity than by fear”- Audrey Niffenegger, NY Times. Read more here
The reason this book is brilliant - is because it explains the exact reason why I get up in the morning. It solved a question I had long wondered about. Why do you (me) sacrifice everything you have - your body, mind space, soul time, finances, sweat and tears, friendship time and sometimes your sanity for this ‘passion’ or this ‘business’ that you have? Well. Because it allows me to be a creative person: 24 hours of the day, 7 days a week. Elizabeth asks - “What do you love doing so much that the words failure and success essentially become irrelevant?”
What I do at P.Mama (Plant and Pasta Mama) is so enjoyable to me, that the outcome is irrelevant. I just do my thing. I just create. And because I am not attached to the outcome of these two businesses, they are successful. I take risks in areas because if it fails, it fails and I just create something else. Most will attempt something once and if it failures, they won’t attempt again. It doesn’t ‘work’ for them. Where I have found that after about the fourth attempt, something sweet starts to change. I have failed on SO MANY THINGS. So many ideas went bust - you just don’t see them. My close friends and family do. And they also see me just keep chugging along that damn old persistence train. It’s about consistently chasing the pursuits of the things that light you up. The task is still enjoyable for you regardless of if it ‘fails’ in the eyes of others.
It has always bothered me when people have said “ughh I am so not creative. I wish I had some of your juice.” There were a few interviews with press a year ago where I talk about how people need to trust their creativity more. To not be so scared of the outcome. You don’t like it, you change it. Paint on canvas, if it’s shit - paint over it. Simple. People really build creativity up as this big scary thing. So when I read in Big Magic “If you’re alive, you’re a creative person. The guardians of high culture will try to convince you that the arts belong only to a chosen few, but they are wrong and they are also annoying” - I felt like a million angels were cooing in the background
How you dress is creative. How you construct that huuularious text message to send to the cute cafe boy: is creative. The tomato salad you made for friends last week (from Pasta Mama OF COURSE). You know how you bought the expensive and colorful heirloom tomatoes at the deli. And then you came home and cut them slowly. Considering how you cut in relation to how it will look in the bowl. Decide which forks match the table setting? Then you’ll style the tomatoes with additional ingredients, wipe the balsamic from the side of the plate. Walk with it proudly cupped in two hands to your friends who stand up and applause. (Wait, does that not happen at yours houses?) Anhyoo - THAT IS ART. That is creativity. That is something that required you to turn on those creativity taps and let it flow. So don’t tell me you aren’t creative. You are. You just need to push past failure and the judgement of others seeping into your thoughts.
“You cannot let fear have control over your creative choices. Your fear will always be triggered by your creativity, because creativity asks you to enter into realms of uncertain outcome, and fear hates uncertain outcome. Let people be in love with 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.” - Gibert
The brain brewing of our first product. Captured on film. Collingwood, May 2020
Ok well what does this have to do with COVID? Everything! Oddly enough, this book was purchased on the run as I fled from Byron down to Melbourne in fear that they were closing the borders in early March. I have this weird thing I do where if I hear a book mentioned 3-4 times within a very short period of time, I buy it. The universe honestly has the best book recommendations HA HA HA! So bam, find a tiny book store on my travels - it's sitting at the counter. It gets shoved deep in the back of my van near a half opened bottle of Peanut Butter (sorry but a 20 hour trip requires bulk snax).
It gets forgotten about for about 2-3 weeks whilst I deal with the crippling anxiety and fear that COVID brought to everyone. Everything froze, and at that point the unknown outcomes of Jobkeeper etc meant I genuinely was preparing myself to close up shop. The ‘For Lease’ signs made their way to the windows of all my neighbouring biz friends on Johnston St. Three of my close friends had to move back to Queensland. Everyone lost their jobs. Was I going to have to close Plant Mama and move home? Was everything I had worked so hard for about to disappear. Obviously this problem does not compare to the horrific experiences others had during this time - but it was my little fear bubble. I consider my problems as not large on the scale of world issues. But they have their space.
After new life sunk in, I had shut off all emails and decided to bite my teeth into Big Magic. Set up the daybed in the backyard, a cool drink, bowl of cold oranges. If I had known beforehand how good this book was going to be, I would have gotten more oranges. I first sat out there for 7 hours, smashed it out. I felt like time and the book flew by - because it was SO INTERESTING. Then, I read a second time - with highlighter in hand, marking al the pages of things that hit me in the face.
It inspired me to just start doing things. Mainly lightheaded “play” things. Things without a pressurised outcome. I painted a few things, made ceramic things, cooked new recipes, wrote cards to friends, started growing veggies from seeds. Finished altering clothes and finally did some hardcore stain removing on my garments (I spill ALL food particles all over me, always and forever). I made videos of my Europe trips and dressed up to have fancy dinner dates with international friends over zoom. Days filled with creative, mindless pursuits - and a great fucking playlist! DON’TCHAKNOWIT!
It felt like I was a kid in art class again. You know that beautiful mid-Primary school age. The play. The possibilities. Just doing shit because it’s fun. Not because I am getting paid to do it, or because it has to be produced for any other purpose but to feed my sheer enjoyment. Thats ‘Big Magic.’ It’s the stuff that can heal shitty emotions. Scary and anxious COVID emotions.
So before I broke the foot, I started delivering little contactless ‘creative packages’ to some clients and close friends with children. Encouraging BOTH parents and children - to delight in some pressure-free-play. Forget our world anxieties for a second, and pretend that they are young hot Italian ceramicists living in Puglia and making clay cups daily. WHO DOESN’T WANT TO DO THAT. I received one late night texts from my deliciously tired and cute mum friend going “ok so my incense holder is a pile of dog shit but I HAD FUN AND I THINK I MAY HAVE TAKEN THAT ITALIAN PLAYLIST TOO SERIOUSLY AND DRANK ALL THE WINE IN THE HOUSE!” Great! Make a ceramic dog shit and get rid of it. As long as you had a nice time in the creating. That is all that I was trying to foster.
“Pure creativity is something better than a necessity; it’s a gift. It’s the frosting. Our creativity is a wild and unexpected bonus from the universe. People don’t do this kind of thing because they have all kinds of extra time and energy for it; they do this kind of thing because their creativity matters to them enough that they are willing to make all kinds of extra sacrifices for it.” - Gilbert
You wanna know the real cracking part of this story? Is that after the ‘play’ stage - I was flooded with ideas. Really good fucking ideas. Ideas that when combined with a broken foot and an inability to do anything BUT computer work, turned my business down another track. I created a product that sold out in the first 24 hours, and the next two ideas that I have followed through with and am currently working on, will be a success. I know that they will. They were born from a relaxed, inspired and thoughtful brain. I was having great ideas before COVID even a with tired, buzzing and throbbing head - but I never had the time or the energy to execute them. So combine free time, a bit of Big Magic and forced bedrest - BINGO YA GOT AN IDEA!
I encourage you to buy this book, or even to explore this idea. As a person who identifies as a ‘creative person,’ or if you are on who does not - we can all learn something here. Play time and mindless creative pursuits might be the only thing holding you back from your greatest idea yet, and you’ll never know until you try HUH! Forget what the others who are failing to consider their own creative pursuits are saying, and follow the things that light you up. The things that make success and failures irrelevant.
“Always, at the end of the day, the important thing is only and always that: Get back to work. This is a path for the courageous and the faithful. You must find another reason to work, other than the desire for success or recognition. It must come from another place. In the end, I love this work. I have always loved this work. My suggestion is that you start with the love and then work very hard and try to let go of the results. Cast out your will, and then cut the line. Please try, also, not to go totally freaking insane in the process. Insanity is a very tempting path for artists, but we don’t need any more of that in the world at the moment, so please resist your call to insanity.” - Elizabeth Gilbert
GOOD LUCK TO YOU ON YOUR BIG MAGIC JOURNEY! Make ceramic dog shits, ugly paintings and dry flakey sourdough - just go make and enjoy (preferably with this and a banging playlist)
May you also locate the new found delight in living a robust, creative and fulfilled warm-and-fuzzy life.
We all so deserve it. Try and argue with me that you don’t.
Love to you always - and I hope the disco found you today!!!
P Mami xx
DIFFERENT PLAYLIST HERE
Read more about Big Magic here
Solve your winter plant problems here