Recently I was given a book as a present from someone close to my heart, who I used to watch in awe years ago as she innocently twirled and danced and sang her heart out. Watching her then, I was awestruck! It was as though she were graced by the goddess--not 'talented' in the ordinary individual ownership sense of that word, but exactly as a gift of BEING.

She was like a magical vehicle bringing her special interpretation of her moment-to-moment experiencing. It was lovely. Her a cappella rendition of something she was remembering or newly perceiving, recreated in perfect pitch, and accompanied by perfect, delightful, rhythmical movement.

And as she grew she became more and more conscious of how others perceived her, allowing the external critical voice to grow and co-creating a new internal critical voice. Rather than question the intent of the critic, sadly, she silenced spontaneous singing, dancing expressions of joy. Criticism contributed to killing the creative.

All this relates to the book that she gave me, which was Eat, Pray,Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. The worldwide acclaim and fame Gilbert has received is described here in a TED talk by Gilbert, which is also about historical shifts in how humans have conceptualized artistry and creative expression. Gilbert's timely and significant message will assist some of the creatives among us to squelch the pressuring external voices of praise and criticism, turning responsibility for what comes through us to some external voice of the muse to speak as they best see fit--allowing creativity to live and thrive!