Right now I’m designing a house renovation and
addition. Actually, I’m NOT designing
because I’ve hit a roadblock. I’ve
“designed myself into a corner,” as my college professors used to say, and I’m
not sure how to get out at the moment.
I thought I’d be productive in a different way and write about it for a
little while. Sometimes when I take a
break, my subconscious continues to problem solve. When I return to the drawing board, the
answers are more easily accessible. I’m
hoping that will happen this time.
Lately I’ve been thinking about an interview
with Pharrell Williams I heard on NPR last New Year’s Eve. He speaks about the
creative process. It resonated with me:
And it would have never happened if the studio
wouldn't have kept telling me, "No, it's not good enough. No, it's not
good enough."
So all the no's actually brought about a product that
you're really proud of.
Brought me to a place of zero, and that nirvana, that
place of that stillness of nothing is when you can ask yourself a clear
question and get a clear answer back. I just wanted to give that to all the
listeners, because that in itself, man, when you feel like you don't have
anymore answers, I want you to know that you're the closest to the best thing
you'll ever do in your life. There's no ego in it, and you're just asking a
clear question. You don't know where the answer's gonna come from, and that's
when the answer comes. I just wanted to share that.
Because honestly that song called
"Happy" and every lyric came out of that place. I'm just so thankful
that all the factors and all the circumstances pushed me in that direction,
because I would have never written that song on my own.
It’s intriguing to me that the
creative process, no matter the medium, has common threads.
