The Creative Act: A Way of Being

by Rick Rubin

We are all translators for messages the universe is broadcasting.

Art is a circulation of energetic ideas. What makes them appear new is that they’re combining differently each time they come back. No two clouds are the same.

something strikes me as interesting or beautiful, first I live that experience. Only afterward might I attempt to understand it.

The universe is only as large as our perception of it. When we cultivate our awareness, we are expanding the universe.

The more raw data we can take in, and the less we shape it, the closer we get to nature.

The act of creation is an attempt to enter a mysterious realm. A longing to transcend. What we create allows us to share glimpses of an inner landscape, one that is beyond our understanding. Art is our portal to the unseen world.

The things we believe carry a charge regardless of whether they can be proven or not.

Awareness needs constant refreshing. If it becomes a habit, even a good habit, it will need to be reinvented again and again.

We tend to think of the artist’s work as the output.

The real work of the artist is a way of being in the world.

This applies to every choice we make. Not just with art, but with the friends we choose, the conversations we have, even the thoughts we reflect on.

The objective is not to learn to mimic greatness, but to calibrate our internal meter for greatness.

The experience of our inner world is often completely overlooked.

Our inner world is every bit as interesting, beautiful, and surprising as nature itself. It is, after all, born of nature.

If a beautiful thought or phrase comes to mind, or if you see a beautiful sunset, one’s not better than the other. Both are equally beautiful in different ways.

Memories can also be thought of as dreamlike. They’re more a romantic story than a faithful document of a life event. And there’s good content to be found in these dreamy recollections we have of past experiences.

Yes, you may need to deepen your craft to fully realize your vision. If you’re not up to it, no one else can do it. Only you can. You’re the only one with your voice.

We are not obligated to follow this calling because we have a talent or skill. It’s worth remembering that we are blessed to get to create. It’s a privilege. We’re choosing it. We’re not being ordered to do this. If we’d rather not do it, let’s not do it.

If you see tremendous beauty or tremendous pain where other people see little or nothing at all, you’re confronted with big feelings all the time. These emotions can be confusing and overwhelming. When those around you don’t see what you see and feel what you feel, this can lead to a sense of isolation and a general feeling of not belonging, of otherness.

Ultimately, your desire to create must be greater than your fear of it.

Intention is all there is. The work is just a reminder.

All kinds of assumptions masquerade as laws:

Art is confrontation. It widens the audience’s reality, allowing them to glimpse life through a different window. One with the potential for a glorious new view.