Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Words of encouragement

"The getting stuck is a very important part of the process. I know younger people and students often feel that if they get stuck on something they're working on, that it's time to give up; that they don't have what it takes, they don't have the talent, they don't have the patience, whatever. But I have found that getting stuck is a very important part of the creative process. That when you're stuck, your subconscious mind is catalyzed and you actually do a lot of very good thinking that you wouldn't have done if you weren't stuck."

Alan Lightman

From an interview here.

4 comments:

jmcleod76 said...

That's actually the whole idea behind koan practice. You receive a seemingly unanswerable question, and you wrestle with it - with your feeling of being stuck - until your consciousness breaks open and you begin to see in a new way. It hasn't worked that way for me with every koan. Some of the "answers" have been clear to me from the beginning. But the ones that really catch me, make my mind rock back and forth in frustration - "what is it? what is it?!" - make the whole world new for a time.

chayaruchama said...

Such a good point, Jaime.
I'm liking this...

BitterGrace said...

I think you should read Lightman, Jaime. Or maybe he should read you...

Alyssa said...

Fantastic, thank you!