big magic, big farts

The first time I read Elizabeth Gilbert’s book, Big Magic, I felt a little meh about it. She weirded me out with all her hocus pocus talk. Like she believes in real-life magic and thinks ideas have feelings. That they swirl around the universe looking for humans to partner with. Really??

Fast forward two years to some, um, things happening in my life and some, um, beliefs changing and some, um, hocus pocus ideas coming out of NOWHERE like they had just been, I don’t know, swirling around in the universe waiting for a human to partner with…

I was perusing my bookshelf for inspiration, saw Big Magic, felt this pull to pull it off the shelf. Opened it up, and… magic. Yeah.

Liz says “creative living” is “living a life that is driven more strongly by curiosity than fear.” (9) And, when she refers to magic, she means it literally. “Like, in the Hogwarts sense. I am referring to the supernatural, the mystical, the inexplicable, the surreal, the divine, the transcendent, the otherworldly.” She believes creativity is “a force of enchantment.” (34)

Do you believe this?

“The idea will organize coincidences and portents to tumble across your path... You will start to notice all sorts of signs pointing you toward the idea. Everything you see and touch and do will remind you of the idea. The idea will wake you up in the middle of the night and distract you from your everyday routine. The idea will not leave you alone until it has your fullest attention. And then, in a quiet moment, it will ask, ‘Do you want to work with me?’” (36)

Has this happened to you? (it has happened to me)

Liz says you can say yes to the idea, or you can say no. Most people say no. And when they say no, nothing happens. Life goes on as normal. And they totally miss out.

When I’m in the middle of writing a book I’m on fire about, the ideas for it come out of everywhere. I can’t write them down fast enough. And it really does feel like... magic.

I told my youngest daughter—who doesn’t let anyone read a word of what she’s constantly writing—about Liz’s magic idea, and she said she totally believes it, that it happens to her all the time.

“In ancient Greek, the word for the highest degree of human happiness is eudaimonia, which basically means ‘well-daemoned’—that is, nicely taken care of by some external divine creative spirit guide.” (67)

Call it a happy demon, the holy spirit, the muse, your elf on the shelf, whatever you want. It’s a really good feeling to be in cahoots with a wise and wonderful guide who helps you become exactly who you were meant to be.

*

This is an excerpt from my latest book, what makes you FART? (want a signed copy? DM me!)

So, tell me, do you believe in an external divine creative spirit guide? If so, what do you call the magic?