ON BEING A GENIUS AND A MISFIT


My mother once told me that creating art in all its forms (art, music, and writing) is the expression of a seemingly misfit genius. I've often pondered what "genius" is and what does being a genius have to do with writing.

Yesterday, I read the following and suddenly understood genius and creativity in a whole new light. "Ideas are always circulating in the collective unconscious, and prepared minds are ready to receive and translate those ideas. That is the nature of genius, to be able to grasp the knowable even when no one else recognizes that it's present. At any given moment, the innovation, creative idea, or creative expression doesn't exist, and in the next moment it's part of our consciousness." (Deepak Chopra)

I'm grateful that my mother prepared my mind and encouraged me to be a misfit.

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