The Journey of Creativity

The journey
of creativity
Marc Rettig
UX India
11 October 2014

These
slides
were
first
presented
at
UX
India
2014,
in
Bangalore
India.
For
more
informa?on,
see
h@p://www.2014.ux-‐india.org/
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have
placed
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speaker’s
notes
on
many
of
the
slides,
to
give
some
sense
of
what
I
had
to
say
with
each
image.
Cover
art
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du
Plessis
of
Fit
Associates
To
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author,
email
marc@fitassociates.com
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products
services
decisions
communications
methods
research
budgets
plans
strategies
Over
the
course
of
35
years,
I
have
worked
on
scores
of
projects.
Most
of
this
work
focused
on
outcomes.
Measurable
outcomes,
either
directly
made
by
the
team,
or
affected
by
the
team’s
work.
But
for
the
past
fiYeen
or
twenty
years,
I’ve
had
a
sense
of
dissa?sfac?on…

It
seemed
to
me
that
I
was
being
asked
to
work
with
the
things
we
can
see
and
measure,
but
the
invisible
and
intangible
SOURCE
of
those
things
was
leY
outside
the
scope
of
the
project.
The
way
people
get
along
together,
the
way
they
relate,
communicate,
collaborate,
who
they
are
and
how
they
see
their
place
in
it
all
–
this
seemed
to
me
to
be
the
“real
work,”
if
we
were
going
to
have
las?ng
posi?ve
impact
on
the
world.
So
now
my
ques?on
is
this…
purpose
connection
alignment
values relationships
boundaries
communication
care
creativity

How can we advance the practice of work that truly,
no joking, improves life?

This is a mythic question.
For 10,000 years, people have
been trying to create together.
Some of them were poets.

Common themes:
not “Who are you?”
but “Who are you becoming?”

Common themes:
The experience of life as a journey,
including the journey toward your
creative work.

Two chapters, two journeys
1. The journey of deep creativity
2. The journey of becoming:
taking your creative place in life

1.
The journey of
deep creativity

The way we pay attention to the
world shapes what we create.

Current Situation | the gap
| Better Situation
(The
shape
of
this
sec?on
and
many
of
the
ideas
it
contains
are
taken
from
the
work
of
O@o
Scharmer
of
MIT,
as
described
in
his
book,
Theory
U.)
Here’s
a
situa?on
in
which
we
are
going
to
work.
Our
goal
is
to
somehow
shiY
it
to
a
be@er
situa?on.
But
how
do
we
cross
the
gap
between
“what
is”
and
“what
could
be?”

Just do
| Better Situation
something à
Maybe,
for
example,
we
are
concerned
about
traffic
in
Bangalore.
The
Just
Do
Something
approach
says,
“I
know
how!”
“I
have
an
idea,
and
I’m
sure
it
will
work.”
Maybe
you
believe
it’s
necessary
to
construct
more
roads,
for
example.
Or
maybe
you
want
to
raise
taxes
on
cars.
Shallow
a@en?on
leads
to
shallow
ac?on.
There
is
no
crea?ve
journey
here.
It’s
easiest
to
be
the
expert.
To
see
and
do
what
you
already
know.
Or
think
you
know.
It’s
easy
to
project
your
vision
onto
the
situa?on,
then
try
to
persuade
it
to
conform
to
your
vision.
And
if
you
are
working
for
one
of
these
people,
it
is
easy
to
play
it
safe,
to
be
polite,
to
do
what’s
expected
of
you.

| Better Situation
Observe
Prototype:
new things
& services
Here
is
a
li@le
deeper
approach:
Go
out
and
look
at
the
situa?on
before
you
decide
what
to
make.
Allow
for
the
possibility
that
you
don’t
already
know
what
to
do.
Or
that
what
you
did
last
?me
might
not
work
in
this
situa?on.
Then
prototype
the
thing,
iterate
it
against
the
possibility
that
your
first
try
might
not
be
the
best
try.
This
is
common
in
industry,
yes?
Many
of
us
receive
requests
to
look
for
“unmet
needs.”
To
find
“ac?onable
insights”
through
observa?on.
If
we
find
a
problem,
we
know
we
can
make
a
bandage
for
it.

Observation’s
enemy: Judgment
The necessary step:
an open mind
There
is
an
enemy
to
working
in
this
way,
an
enemy
that
prevents
people
from
observing
in
a
way
that
lets
them
see
clearly
what
could
be
helpful
in
any
situa?on.
That
enemy
is
“The
Voice
of
Judgment.”
In
this
diagram,
the
eye
is
your
center
of
a@en?on.
The
circle
is
your
collec?on
of
beliefs,
assump?ons,
and
stories
about
people
and
the
world.
With
our
a@en?on
centered
inside
this
bubble,
everything
we
see
and
here
is
filtered
by
those
judgments,
presupposi?ons,
and
stories.
Or
another
way
of
interpre?ng
this
diagram
is
to
imagine
that
the
bubble
is
a
screen
onto
which
we
are
always
projec?ng
our
beliefs
and
stories.
So
we
are
constantly
looking
at
the
world
through
our
own
projec?ons.
But
we
can
learn
to
move
our
a@en?on
to
the
edge
of
this
bubble.
To
put
our
beliefs,
assump?ons,
and
stories
about
the
world
behind
us
for
a
?me,
and
simply
open
to
whatever
our
senses
bring.
Each
move
into
deeper
crea0vity
requires
a
courageous
step.
To
move
into
crea?vity
that
draws
from
clear
observa?on
of
other
people’s
experience,
we
must
make
the
step
of
opening
our
mind.
Open
your
mind
to
see
what’s
really
there,
including
the
things
that
don’t
align
with
your
expecta?ons.
This
is
something
you
can
prac?ce
every
day.
Give
it
a
try!
Tip
o’
the
hat
to
O0o
Scharmer.

| Better Situation
Observe Prototype:
new things
& services
Immerse
New processes
& structures
Here
is
a
s?ll
deeper
way
of
working.
Beyond
simply
observing
as
an
outsider,
then
returning
to
your
world
to
conceive
“solu?ons,”
go
inside
the
situa:on.
Immerse
in
it,
so
you
can
see
what’s
under
the
problems.
Maybe
in
our
traffic
example,
we
observe
that
some
amount
of
the
traffic
has
to
do
with
moving
goods
and
supplies
to
stores.
Trucks
restocking
stores.
So
beyond
observing
that,
you
go
to
the
stores,
spend
?me
in
their
world,
see
through
the
eyes
of
shopkeepers.
And
you
ride
with
the
delivery
drivers,
or
become
one
yourself.
You
spend
?me
in
the
warehouse
and
shipping
facility.
You
see
the
organiza?onal
processes
and
structures,
and
the
rou?nes
of
human
life
that
are
the
ROOT
SOURCE
of
the
things
you’d
like
to
improve.
Tip
o’
the
hat
to
O0o
Scharmer.

Immersion’s
enemy: Cynicism
The necessary step:
an open heart –
disconnect your identity
from your point of view
Tip
o’
the
hat
to
O0o
Scharmer.
Again,
this
move
into
a
deeper
process
of
crea?vity
requires
us
to
move
our
center
of
a@en?on,
and
again
there
is
an
enemy
standing
in
the
way
of
that
move.
When
we
begin
to
see
the
world
through
other
people’s
eyes,
begin
to
see
without
judgment,
we
will
see
complexity
and
difficulty
we
previously
avoided
or
filtered
out.
Our
crea?ve
work
may
be
blocked
by
cynicism:
“This
is
too
complicated
and
established.
These
people
will
never
change.”
“We’ve
tried
to
help
this
kind
of
thing
before,
and
it
didn’t
work.”
“It’s
going
to
be
way
too
expensive.”
The
an?dote
to
cynicism
is
to
move
your
a@en?on
outside
yourself,
so
you
no
longer
are
the
only
person
(or
team
or
company)
involved.
You
are
part
of
something
much
bigger.
When
you
realize
that
you
are
just
one
part
of
a
much
larger
set
of
possibili?es,
and
open
your
heart
to
working
with
everyone
else
who
is
part
of
what’s
going
on,
more
becomes
possible.
Those
new
organiza?onal
structures
and
processes
are
going
to
be
made
of
the
same
people
you
are
cynical
about.
Open
your
heart,
work
with
them,
give
them
your
passion,
help
them
create
something
that
lets
out
the
possibili?es.

| Better Situation
Observe Prototype:
new things
& services
Immerse
New processes
& structures
Let go: question
assumptions
Reframe: new
purpose and
principles

Here
is
what
O@o
Scharmer
calls
a
“U-‐Journey,”
and
what
I
am
calling
a
“deep
crea?ve
journey.”
Observe
the
situa?on.
Go
inside,
immerse,
see
from
many
points
of
view.
Then,
if
you
have
opened
to
truly
see,
let
go
of
your
presupposi?ons,
and
let
go
of
the
idea
that
YOU
are
the
one
to
“solve”
it,
you
make
room
for
something
new
to
be
born.
This
is
important
because
the
processes
and
structures
men?oned
in
the
previous
slide
aren’t
the
root
source
aYer
all.
There
is
an
exis?ng
system
with
a
life
of
its
own,
and
that
system
is
full
of
people
who
hold
certain
values
and
beliefs
about
what’s
good.
You
can’t
get
new
processes
un?l
you
work
with
THEIR
ROOT
SOURCE:
the
priori?es
and
possibili?es
of
the
people
who
live
the
situa?on.
I
tried
to
think
of
an
example
in
our
transporta?on
story.
Maybe
we
see
that
in
the
case
of
some
foods,
the
situa?on
already
contains
the
possibility
of
some
items
not
going
first
to
stores
for
people
to
buy
them,
but
directly
from
the
warehouse
to
work
places.
By
two-‐wheeler.
Reducing
traffic,
crea?ng
jobs,
relieving
store
owners
of
some
burden
while
s?ll
allowing
them
to
par?cipate,
and
so
on.
Whatever
the
right
example
is,
the
point
is
that
you
won’t
get
to
this
profound
possibility
on
your
own,
but
only
by
tapping
into
the
diverse
collec?on
of
viewpoints
and
possibili?es
represented
by
the
people
who
live
out
the
system
every
day.
This
is
the
place
where
something
profound
can
happen,
because
you
are
working
at
a
profound
level.
You
can
reframe
the
purpose,
together
you
can
redraw
the
principles.
and
THOSE
will
lead
to
new
processes
and
structures,
which
you
can
prototype,
and
which
teach
you
what
products
and
services
are
needed
to
bring
the
principles
to
life.
Tip
o’
the
hat
to
O0o
Scharmer.

The enemy of
letting go: Fear
The necessary step:
an open will – work from a
sense of belonging to the
larger whole
The
enemy
of
this
kind
of
work
is
fear.
Fear
of
change,
fear
of
inadequacy
and
failure.
Fear
of
collabora?on
with
people
who
are
very
unlike
yourself.
Fear
of
LETTING
GO
of
what
you
KNOW,
of
what
you
are
comfortable
with.
Of
the
things
that
have
made
up
your
iden?ty.
“I’m
a
web
designer,
not
a
transporta?on
innovator,
not
a
facilitator,
not
a
social
worker!”
The
step
required
-‐-‐
the
courageous
step
in
this
crea?ve
journey
-‐-‐
is
to
open
yourself
in
such
a
way
that
you
see
yourself
as
part
of
the
larger
thing
that’s
happening.
You
already
par?cipate
in
all
of
its
possibili?es.
There
is
something
“trying
to
be
born,”
a
future
that’s
trying
to
show
up,
and
that
is
your
customer.
Tip
o’
the
hat
to
O0o
Scharmer.

Creating from a true connection between your authentic self and
the people who live the situation you aim to serve requires a
deep attention and courageous inner steps. And that has been
people’s experience for centuries.
I’m
not
saying
this
is
The
One
and
Only
Process.
You
can
find
other
people
who
would
agree
about
the
necessity
of
going
deeper
than
the
surface,
agree
on
the
necessity
of
involving
people
other
than
yourself
and
your
team
as
“experts,”
but
who
would
draw
the
process
or
journey
in
quite
a
different
way.
(I
can
recommend
the
wonderful
work
of
Dave
Snowden
and
his
team
at
Cogni?ve
Edge
as
an
example.)
But
I
am
saying
this:
work
that
touches
the
roots
and
soil
of
a
situa?on,
work
that
has
a
chance
of
bringing
something
be@er,
meaningful
for
people,
and
las?ng,
requires
deep
crea?vity.
Deeply
crea?ve
work
means
connec?ng
your
insides
–
your
sense
of
care,
and
connec?on,
and
Who
You
Are
–
to
the
situa?on
you’re
working
with.
Ar?sts
do
this.
Writers
do
this.
Inventors,
engineers,
teachers,
mothers,
religious
leaders,
and
yes,
designers
do
this.
Whatever
your
personal
story,
whatever
the
story
of
your
team
or
organiza?on,
we
are
all
invited
to
par?cipate
in
work
that
is
bigger
than
ourselves.
The
truth
is,
our
work
is
ALREADY
bigger
than
ourselves.
It
already
has
impact
on
the
world.
We
can’t
help
but
change
the
world,
and
each
of
us
already
is
doing
so
through
our
choices
and
ac?ons.
When
we
embark
on
a
deep
crea?ve
journey,
the
heart
of
the
work
and
the
quality
of
the
work
is
not
related
to
intelligence
or
craY.
Those
are
useful
in
their
place,
and
each
of
us
has
our
giYs
to
give.
The
heart
of
the
work
is
in
our
openness
to
the
world
and
its
possibili?es,
our
openness
to
taking
our
place
in
the
crea?on
of
something
that
brings
more
life
to
the
world.
And
that,
it
turns
out,
has
been
a
challenge
for
people
throughout
the
ages.

2.
The mythic journey of
becoming: taking your
creative place in life.
The
reason
that
great
poetry
and
literature
is
popular
through
centuries
is
because
it
reports
on
the
experiences
all
humans
share.
As
I
have
made
a
shiY
to
work
that
starts
with
social
ques?ons
rather
than
business
or
technology
ques?ons,
I
have
also
been
learning
from
people
who
have
studied
the
more
soulful,
mythical
and
poe?c
aspects
of
the
experience
of
people
who
have
sought
to
create
something
meaningful
in
the
world.
Over
?me,
as
I
married
my
own
experience
to
these
stories,
poems,
and
myths,
I
synthesized
it
all
into
the
following
few
steps.
This
is
a
synthesis,
not
a
retelling
of
a
par?cular
myth
or
even
a
single
scholarly
point
of
view.

David Whyte: poet and scholar of poetry
Heart aroused: poetry and the preservation of the soul
in corporate America
Joseph Campbell: scholar of world mythology
Hero with a thousand faces
Here
are
two
key
sources
I
have
drawn
from,
among
many
others,
as
I
have
lived
out
and
wri@en
about
this
journey.
I
don’t
know
if
what
I
am
about
to
say
will
sound
very
“Western”
to
an
Indian
audience.
I
see
it
as
being
about
the
human
experience
(but
I
have
never
told
it
to
a
non-‐Western
audience).
This
is
my
version
of
the
old
story,
based
partly
on
my
own
experience
through
the
past
decade,
and
streamlined
for
?me.

The
story
begins
with
you
being
asleep.
Crea?vely
snoozing.
This
is
a
kind
of
staleness
or
comfort
with
the
way
things
are.
Working
to
please
others,
following
the
script
handed
to
you
by
your
culture,
your
parents,
your
boss.
I
don’t
know
about
you,
but
for
me
this
meant:
-‐
Living
up
to
others
expecta?ons.
Living
to
please,
to
conform.
-‐
Choosing
mostly
by
criteria
I
was
given
by
upbringing
and
culture.
-‐
Feeling
like
life
was
something
that
was
happening
to
me,
not
something
I
was
par?cipa?ng
in.
-‐
Following
my
intellectual
passions
and
growing
in
craY,
but
otherwise
numb.
Emo?onally
dull.
My
own
opinions,
feelings,
and
Self
blanketed
by
deference
to
(mostly
self-‐constructed)
boundaries
and
“shoulds”.
-‐
Living
“un?l…”
wai?ng
for
the
right
invita?on,
circumstances,
money,
job,
permission
from
someone
else
-‐
Puong
pain,
insecurity,
fear,
and
flaws
in
a
bag
–
a
growing
bag
where
an
angry
me
sat
in
the
hidden
dark.
BUT
THERE
COMES
A
POINT
WHEN
YOU’VE
HAD
ENOUGH
“With
all
of
our
goals,
missions
statements,
posi?ve
thinking,
bonus
mileage
plans,
and
future
career
moves
safely
to
the
rear,
we
can
look
around
and
find
ourselves,
slightly
chilled,
in
a
small
unfamiliar
clearing
in
a
dark
wood,
facing
that
stubborn,
not-‐to-‐be-‐accepted
life
we
have
made
and
must
call
our
own.
One
day,
we
wake
and
see
our
life
as
we
have
made
it.”
David
Whyte

In the middle of the road of my life
I awoke in a dark wood
where the true way was wholly lost.
Dante
Whyte
writes,
“In
three
lines
Dante
says
that
the
journey
begins
right
here.
In
the
middle
of
the
road.
Right
beneath
your
feet.
This
is
the
place.
There
is
no
other
place
and
no
other
?me.
…When
you
do
wake,
you
are
rousing
a
different
part
of
you,
a
barely
experienced
life
that
lies
at
your
core.
Having
forgo@en
this
central
soul
experience,
you
do
not
recognize
where
you
are.
To
the
part
of
you
that
loved
your
sleep,
it
feels
as
though
you
are
lost.”
The
poe?c
tradi?on
is
that
this
is
a
scary
place,
but
it
is
the
necessary
place
of
beginning.
There
are
many
portrayals
of
this.
Read
Joseph
Campbell’s
work
on
the
Hero’s
Journey,
for
example.
The
journey
begins
with
an
awakening,
a
sense
of
inadequacy,
and
a
seong
out
from
home.
When
you
are
awake,
you
pay
a@en?on
to
the
world
and
to
your
life
in
a
different
way.
A
deeper
way.
This
makes
way
for
the
possibility
of
crea?ve
engagement
with
the
world.
But
that
doesn’t
start
with
your
hands.
It
doesn’t
start
with
your
intelligence.
It
happens
first
in
the
intui?ve
mind.
Closer
to
our
iden?ty,
our
sense
of
self.
Down
in
the
place
where
there
are
no
words.
AYer
Dante
woke
in
the
woods
he
hadn’t
walked
far
before
he
emerged
from
the
dense
trees
and
could
see
the
sun
shining
off
the
distant
peaks
of
paradise.
He
walked
forward,
only
to
encounter
three
beasts
that
blocked
his
way.
A
leopard,
a
lion,
and
a
wolf.
In
other
stories,
it’s
a
different
monster.
In
the
tale
of
Beowulf,
it
was
a
monster
named
Grendel.

In
the
story
of
Beowulf,
a
king,
Hrothgar,
had
a
problem
with
a
monster
named
Grendel,
who
had
been
coming
into
his
great
hall,
killing
warriors,
and
carrying
them
off
into
the
night.
He
hired
Beowulf
to
kill
Grendel,
offering
half
his
kingdom
in
reward.
They
waited,
Grendel
came,
and
aYer
a
great
fight,
Beowulf
and
his
men
succeeded.
A
great
celebra?on
was
held.
Then
something
else
came
into
the
hall.
Killed
warriors,
carried
them
off.
It
was
Grendel’s
mother.
Whyte
says,
“It’s
not
the
thing
you
fear,
it’s
the
MOTHER
of
the
thing
you
fear.”
Beowulf’s
mother
lived
at
the
bo@om
of
a
black
cold
lake.
A
stag,
pursued
by
wolves,
would
rather
die
on
its
shores
than
go
into
the
lake.
Beowulf
entered
the
lake.
In
a
great
ba@le,
he
found
there
at
the
bo@om
the
sword
that
would
kill
the
monster,
and
he
did
so.
There
is
something,
for
each
of
us,
that
holds
us
back.
That
kills
our
courage
and
drags
it
off
into
the
night.
Something
that
keeps
us
from
living
out
our
true
desire.
There
are
things
about
yourself
that
you
are
not
proud
of,
the
things
you
have
come
to
feel
are
inadequate
or
ugly,
but
s?ll
they
are
part
of
you.
Perhaps
you
have
dreams
of
becoming
something
that
would
be
unpopular
with
your
parents
or
your
colleagues.
There’s
something
you
fear,
that
prevents
you
from
diving
down
into
the
place
where
you
could
find
the
death
of
your
fear.
Whyte:
“Ironically,
our
place
of
refuge
is
the
lake
where
the
greater
devouring
animal
of
our
disowned
desire
lies
in
the
shape
of
Beowulf’s
mother.
The
refusal
to
go
down
into
the
lake
is
the
refusal
to
be
eaten
by
life.
The
delusion
is
that
there
might
be
a
possibility
of
immunity
from
the
natural
failures
that
accompany
the
soul’s
explora?ons
in
the
world.
But
the
story
says
you
are
going
to
be
swallowed
by
something
greater
one
way
or
another.
The
only
real
ques?on
is
not
one
of
winning
or
losing,
but
of
experiencing
life
with
an
ever-‐increasing
depth.
The
storyteller
says,
‘Why
not
go
down,
at
home
or
at
work,
into
the
lake,
consciously,
like
Beowulf?’
Don’t
die
on
the
shore.
The
stakes
are
high.
The
stakes
are
your
life.”

In
story
aYer
story,
over
centuries,
the
hero
leaves
home
on
a
quest.
AYer
a
long
journey,
he
eventually
comes
to
a
place
that
he
discovers
is
the
very
home
he
leY.
And
he
finds
that
he
is
now
ready
to
take
his
place
in
the
world.
He’s
able
to
integrate
all
the
parts
of
himself,
and
along
the
way
and
in
the
act
of
returning
a
spark
was
lit
that
is
the
source
of
crea?ve
fire.
Coming
home
and
taking
your
place
means
this:
Accep?ng
yourself,
just
as
you
are,
as
enough.
Those
things
that
made
you
afraid
to
go
into
the
lake?
You’ve
accepted
them
as
part
of
you.
It’s
not
that
you’ve
banished
them.
It’s
not
that
you’ve
become
perfect.
You
have
come
home
to
yourself.
You
understand
that
you
are
enough,
just
as
you
are,
warts
and
flaws,
strengths
and
victories,
defeats
and
shames,
prides
and
loves
and
hates
and
pimples
and
all.

Love
a9er
Love
Derek
Walco@
The
?me
will
come
when,
with
ela?on
you
will
greet
yourself
arriving
at
your
own
door,
in
your
own
mirror
and
each
will
smile
at
the
other's
welcome,
and
say,
sit
here.
Eat.
You
will
love
again
the
stranger
who
was
your
self.
Give
wine.
Give
bread.
Give
back
your
heart
to
itself,
to
the
stranger
who
has
loved
you
all
your
life,
whom
you
ignored
for
another,
who
knows
you
by
heart.
Take
down
the
love
le@ers
from
the
bookshelf,
the
photographs,
the
desperate
notes,
peel
your
own
image
from
the
mirror.
Sit.
Feast
on
your
life.

For
a
?me
I
thought
“oh,
I’ve
taken
my
place,
and
that’s
how
life
will
be
from
now
on.”
Now
I
understand
that
life
involves
a
series
of
fron?ers.
I
experience
new
beginnings
all
the
?me,
in
work,
in
family,
in
my
own
insides.
I’ve
come
to
see
them
as
coming
to
a
river,
then
spending
?me
geong
myself
to
cross.
Time
making
the
crossing,
having
a
sense
of
arrival
and
maybe
also
disorienta?on.
And
feeling
afraid
or
excited
or
both
at
each
step.
OYen
we
don’t
recognize
that
we
are
have
come
to
the
end
of
a
chapter
of
life
un?l
we’ve
been
there
for
some
?me.
I’ve
had
the
experience
of
suddenly
realizing,
“Oh!
No
wonder
I
haven’t
liked
those
projects,
that
work
that
I
would
have
been
thrilled
by
five
years
ago.
I’ve
moved
on
to
something
else,
I
just
didn’t
realize
it!”
Here’s
David
Whyte
again:
“We
can
experience
a
kind
of
fron?er
iden?ty,
in
which
we
can
live
a
life,
no
ma@er
what
threshold
we
find
ourselves
in,
in
each
stage
of
life,
there’s
a
way
of
understanding
what
par?cular
threshold
you
are
on,
and
living
a
life
that’s
up
to
the
conversa?on
you’re
asked
to
join.”
“There
is
a
kind
of
harvest
available
to
us
at
every
point
in
life.
Some?mes
the
harvest
is
in
darkness
and
despair
and
difficulty,
and
the
?de
seems
to
have
gone
out
from
us,
and
it
seems
there
is
very
li@le
help
in
the
world
except
the
strange
hand
extended
to
us
in
our
darkness
and
in
our
loneliness.
Other
?mes
we
seem
to
have
a
great
buoyancy
beneath
us,
a
great
?de
flowing
with
us.
Strangely
enough
those
?mes
of
great
success
and
flow
can
also
be
?mes
of
forgeong
our
origins,
of
why
we
set
out
on
the
journey
in
the
first
place.
And
mostly
life
will
be
a
li@le
of
both
—
you
will
have
darkness
and
light
woven
into
your
days.”
“I’d
like
to
remind
us
of
the
mul?layered
complexity
of
everyday
existence.
And
that
one
of
the
disciplines
is
the
ability
to
hold
as
many
contexts
at
the
same
?me
as
possible.
These
contexts
are
held
together
through
a
central
imagina?on.
In
poe?c
tradi?on,
[“imagina?on”
is
not
the
ability
to
think
up
new
things.]
Keats
and
Coleridge
would
call
this
the
secondary
imagina?on,
or
“fancy.”
The
primary
imagina?on
is
your
ability
to
form
a
central
image
inside
yourself,
or
to
discover
that
image
inside
yourself,
an
image
that
makes
sense
of
all
the
thousands
of
images
that
you
are
involved
with
in
your
life.
That
there
is
a
faculty
inside
human
beings,
this
faculty
of
the
imagina?on,
which
is
able
to
make
sense
of
any
level
of
complexity,
and
to
give
you
a
place
to
stand
at
the
center
of
it,
and
a
ground
from
which
to
step
from
into
your
new
life.”

San0ago
David
Whyte
The
road
seen,
then
not
seen,
the
hillside
hiding
then
revealing
the
way
you
should
take,
the
road
dropping
away
from
you
as
if
to
leave
you
walking
on
thin
air,
then
catching
you,
holding
you
up,
when
you
thought
you
would
fall,
and
the
way
forward
always
in
the
end
the
way
that
you
followed,
the
way
that
carried
you
into
your
future,
that
brought
you
to
this
place,
…
so
that
one
day
you
realized
that
what
you
wanted
had
already
happened
long
ago
and
in
the
dwelling
place
you
had
lived
in
before
you
began,
and
that
every
step
along
the
way,
you
carried
the
heart
and
the
mind
and
the
promise
that
first
set
you
off
and
drew
you
on
and
that
you
were
more
marvelous
in
your
simple
wish
to
find
a
way
than
the
gilded
roofs
of
any
des?na?on
you
could
reach:
as
if,
all
along,
you
had
thought
the
end
point
might
be
a
city
with
golden
towers,
and
cheering
crowds,
and
turning
the
corner
at
what
you
thought
was
the
end
of
the
road,
you
found
just
a
simple
reflec?on,
and
a
clear
revela?on
beneath
the
face
looking
back
and
beneath
it
another
invita?on,
all
in
one
glimpse:
like
a
person
and
a
place
you
had
sought
forever,
like
a
broad
field
of
freedom
that
beckoned
you
beyond;
like
another
life,
and
the
road
s?ll
stretching
on.

The Journey of Creativity

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