The One Book Everyone Should Read: Ft. My Thoughts

I, and likely you as well, have often been asked "what's your favourite book?" Seems simple. A go-to on a first date, while also beloved by socially awkward friends. This usually leaves me, and presumably everyone else who's ever been asked this question, wondering, "what is my favourite book?"

I've read books that I've liked, books that I've hated, books I had to write essays on, books I didn't really want to read but read anyways because my friend liked them, or I wanted to seem cool, or smart, or chic, or develop a more eclectic taste. But I have rarely found books whose title incessantly invades my daily thoughts.

Don't get me wrong- I'm a big fan of the generality of reading, and don't even get me started on the smell of a new-to-you second-hand book, spine cracked, raining outside, and nothing to do but get lost in someone else's thoughts. "Babe, don't threaten me with a good time." But, generally, I find it difficult to pluck the title of my favourite book out of thin air. Should I say something I think the person asking me would enjoy? Do I even know what they would enjoy? Or should I say the most recent thing I've read in case they ask a follow-up question? Should I say a book I read for English class in case they secretly think I'm an idiot and I subconsciously need to prove that I'm not? Or should I say one that I liked years and years ago that now gives me a nostalgic feeling? Will that nostalgic feeling go right over their heads and leave them thinking I haven't read a book past the reading level of your average fifth grader? Truth be told, I don't know if I have a favourite book, because I've read lots of great books. From Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, to Pulitzer-prize winning Toni Morrison's Beloved, all the way to The Secret Garden, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, and Quiet by Susan Cain, I just don't know! But I do have one that I think changed the course of my life.

That sounds dramatic, and it quite possibly is, but to put into words the extent to which one book single-handedly slapped me across the face, ripped me from the comfort of my self-appointed cage, dragged me through some thorny bushes, and thrust me out of my cozy little bubble into the world of creativity, I would need to turn a stand-alone into a ten-book series with a spin-off TV show.

In short, the book Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert is one I truly do believe every single person who is at all interested in living a happy, creative, and generally fulfilled life should read. Particularly if you're at all struggling to make any of those things happen.

At its core, Big Magic teaches you the power of fun, and creating just to create, and helps you take the pressure off of yourself because, really, a blog, or a song, or a book, or a poem aren't the same as performing open heart surgery. They're supposed to be fun! 

I can understand the difficulties of wanting your creative endeavours to be seen and heard and valued, but at the end of the day why do we do anything creative? I sincerely hope your only goal towards accomplishing any creative pursuit is not to become rich and famous. Occasionally those two things can become an added bonus for some creative people, but it definitely shouldn't be anyone's main goal when they take pen to paper, or voice to microphone, or feet to stage, or even glue gun to macaroni. Since when did being creative have to include so much pressure? Since when did we decide that unless you're giving all or nothing, 1000% of yourself to every tiny project you do, you're a failure. Huh?! What kind of logic is that? You don't need to quit your job to write stories. Do it whenever you have the time! You don't need to remodel your entire self to be an actor. Join a community theatre for God's sakes! If either of those turn into something more, you can deal with the rest later, the best thing to do for your sanity and creative spirit is to get. it. out. there. That's what Big Magic has taught me, anyway.

You may be sitting here thinking, Tf does this girl know?! My creative goals are obviously different than hers, and there are barriers that are physically and mentally impossible for me to move. She clearly doesn't know how the real world works. 'Just be creative, make time for it'?! Pufffft. What nonsense from another idiotic writer. And to that I say: you may be right, and I know your situation is likely very different from mine simply because of the fact that we will always be two separate people. But let's be honest here, if you're in the position to obsess for long enough to gain a solid, well-founded opinion on anything, then you sure as hell aren't as hard done by as you think. Do you have a piece of paper and a pen? Some string? A work laptop you can write on, or can google how to learn origami, or make flowers out of beads? Then you've definitely got enough time to put the energy you spend hating the world to better use. The point here is: there are a lot of ironies within creativity, and whatever you may be feeling go ahead and write it. Or sing it. Or perform it. Or create an interpretive dance to it for all I care! Did you have fun doing it? That's all that really matters, isn't it?

I owe every single one of these thoughts towards creativity to Gilbert's ingenious insights in Big Magic, and highly recommend it to anyone who will listen to my very obvious adoration for this book. 

It's notable to point out, however, that had I read Big Magic at an even earlier point in my life, it's possible that I would have viewed it differently, and it wouldn't have had the impact that I'm so grateful it had on me. So if you feel like you're not in a place to read it with the utmost desire to achieve whatever you wish to achieve, and are going to take it as a personal attack for how you currently live your life, then by all means, don't.

That being said, PLEASE tuck it away into a corner of your brain to be read when you CAN stomach the thought of being creative and happy, because that's what it will teach you.

To put this into perspective here, I am far from perfect when it comes to anything really, but especially creativity. I doubt how good I am at writing constantly. I feel like my words will never be loud enough, strong enough, abrasive enough, kind enough, or perfect enough to ever win me any awards or receive a single accolade ALL. THE. TIME! Let alone the fear that I'm so far out of touch with how my words are perceived that the context and reason behind me writing them are completely lost in a convoluted jungle of idiosyncrasies.

It's very likely that none of these things are true, and I, just like everyone else on planet earth, am being ridiculously hard on myself out of fear that I might not succeed… or worse…. actually become successful. Oh the terror! But what Big Magic has taught me is that regardless of if these things are true (which are probably not, but stay with me here if only for arguments sake), who cares? So what if I suck at something I enjoy? Will the world implode if someone doesn't like what I write or what I have to say? Or even if I end up not liking something I've written? I still did it, and I always enjoy the process of writing, even if it's something truly terrible. So no, none of these things really matter in the long run, so the same goes for you.

The point of being creative is never to gain what you think will make you happy: success, fame, money, lots of people completely and utterly obsessed with you, your parent's approval, whatever it may be. Creativity does not shoulder the weight of all our problems, so it shouldn't be blamed when it doesn't work out exactly how we plan and hope and pray for it to. Sometimes, as unfortunate as it may seem, it just doesn't, which is irrelevant, because it's supposed to be fun. It's as simple as that, truly. Leave your worries to rest for a minute, and do something you enjoy. Create something through knitting, create something through writing, create something through yoga or bracelet making, or Connect Four, even! (Although I don't know how you could do that, but where there's a will there's a way, I suppose.) Creativity is quite possibly the one thing in life you never need to get anything back from, and don't need to rely on at any point in your life for some sort of basic survival. This makes it nothing but fun. There's absolutely no point to stressing over whether your work meets some standard of excellence, there is no pinnacle of success that any creative endeavour could ever meet, because it was never created to fit into any sort of category for success in the first place.

This makes creativity, and the inventions (whether tangible or imaginary) it creates, nothing but things to be enjoyed, and shared when you can, regardless of your fear of how they may be perceived.

This was a very long winded way of saying you seriously need Big Magic in your life, and I sincerely hope you listen to the heart of what it's saying.

Anywho, happy reading!

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