Big magic: creative living beyond fear - Elizabeth Gilbert 2015

We Were Just a Band
Permission

Because, in the end, it really doesn’t matter that much.

Because, in the end, it’s just creativity.

Or, as John Lennon once said about the Beatles, “We were just a band!”

Please don’t get me wrong: I adore creativity. (And of course I revere the Beatles.) I have dedicated my entire life to the pursuit of creativity, and I spend a lot of time encouraging other people to do the same, because I think a creative life is the most marvelous life there is.

Yes, some of my most transcendent moments have been during episodes of inspiration, or when I’m experiencing the magnificent creations of others. And, yes, I absolutely do believe that our artistic instincts have divine and magical origins, but that doesn’t mean we have to take it all so seriously, because—in the final analysis—I still perceive that human artistic expression is blessedly, refreshingly nonessential.

That’s exactly why I love it so much.