An Inkling of Magic
Dear Reader,
I like to keep records of things that connect with me on some deeper level than just enjoyment. You’ve seen me mention Big Magic already, and you’ll no doubt see me mention it more. The entirety of Big Magic is one example of something that connects with me on, well I guess you could call it a spiritual level. It hits me right in the chest, in that “yeah, I know about this.” spot. If you’ve ever had one of these moments, then you’ll know the spot I’m talking about. It’s the place that intuition and imagination stem from.
While I haven’t read the book, the film adaption of Cloud Atlas has one of these moments. There is a scene in which Hugo Weaving’s character confronts Jim Sturgess’ and the interaction is – to me at least – quite profound.
“There is a natural order to this world, and those who try to upend it do not fare well. This movement will never survive; if you join them, you and your entire family will be shunned. At best, you will exist a pariah to be spat and beaten-at worst, to be lynched or crucified. And for what? For what? No matter what you do it will never amount to anything more than a single drop in a limitless ocean.”
“What is an ocean but a multitude of drops?”
I adore this notion for two reasons: One, it got me. “Yeah, I know about this,” I thought. Two, it’s so, completely, utterly true.
If we never question, if we never pause, if we never fight, then of course the things we want to change, never will. Yet, if we do fight…if we all get up and shout to the skies our passions and our feelings and our resolve, then maybe, just maybe, things will change.
It’s the same with writing. Yes, I am but one voice in a sea of other talented (if not more so) voices, but if I don’t at least try, how will anyone ever hear me and what I have to say?
Here is another one from a movie called August Rush, which I absolutely adore. There are two moments in this clip that hit that spot.
The first is when the little girl ask’s August “Do you like music?”, to which he responds “More than food.”
She gives him a funny look, and yet, this is how I feel about writing. This is how I think most passionate writers feel about the craft, about the obsession. And I think this feeling is an essential element of Big Magic.
The second moment I love is when the same little girl rushes off to get the pastor. She says, “remember in musical appreciation we had a class on Mozart, remember how you said he was a musical pod?”
The Pastor, of course, corrects her and says “Prodigy”, but I like that she said ‘Pod’ instead. Part of why I like this is because of that old saying “Two peas in a pod.” but another reason is because I like this notion of Pea-Pods. The idea that two very different people from two very different backgrounds can have the same attitude, the same passion, the same drive or fire or what have you. They are “Two Peas in Pod.”
I reference this idea heavily in my new Novel project and part of why I love it so much is that it brings people together. This is what I want to do. I want to bring people together. I keep striving toward this feeling, this inkling of something deeper, something spiritual. Toward Big Magic.
I sit here, and I keep at it, and I hope you keep at it too, in whatever passion you are pursuing.
Sincerely,
The Jade Writer Girl.
Writerly Aspirations Week 2:
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