Inspiration
Joseph Campbell on completion of The Masks of God:
Looking back today over the twelve delightful years that I spent on this richly rewarding enterprise, I find that its main result for me has been its confirmation of a thought I have long and faithfully entertained: of the unity of the race of man, not only in its biology but also in its spiritual history, which has everywhere unfolded in the manner of a single symphony, with its themes announced, developed, amplified and turned about, distorted, reasserted, and, today, in a grand fortissimo of all sections sounding together, irresistibly advancing to some kind of mighty climax, out of which the next great movement will emerge.
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Steven Pressfield in his book The War of Art on Territory pages 147 – 155:
“In the animal kingdom, individuals define themselves in one of two ways – by their rank within a hierarchy (a hen in a pecking order, a wolf in a pack) or by their connection to a territory (a home base, a hunting ground, a turf). This is how individuals – humans as well as animals – achieve psychological security … Of the two orientations, the hierarchical seems to be the default setting … It’s only later in life, usually after a stern education in the university of hard knocks, that we begin to explore the territorial alternative.”
“For the artist to define himself hierarchically is fatal … The artist must operate territorially. He must do his work for its own sake.”
“What are the qualities of a territory?
- A territory provides sustenance …
- A territory sustains us without any external input …
- A territory can only be claimed alone …
- A territory can only be claimed by work …
- A territory returns exactly what you put in …
What’s your territory?”
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The best TED cast of them all:
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