Passion and Mastery

I believe there are those who create from raw passion, and those who create from refined expertise. There are, of course, combinations of both — those that love deeply and create with excellence. These are not opposite methods, nor are they mutually exclusive, they are simply separate wells that we pull from when we create.

The well that is characterized by passion, the one that fuels so many exceptional artists, seems to come from some traumatic or existential experience, be it acute or prolonged. Further still, I would argue that the bottom this well is love. Or lack of it.

We all begin at the first well — loves, longings, experiences — even if we don’t create anything as a result. The second well, that of mastery, is much wider, it’s easy to fall in — whether it be ours or our neighbors’ or those great artists that have come and gone. We must not lose sight of the first well in pursuit of the second.

The first well can appear to be frustratingly small, finite, limited. Our temptation, my temptation, is to widen the well, compare against my neighbor, and perhaps dip into somebody else’s. Although It is crucial explore divergent experiences and be self-aware in relation to others, to be inspired and motivated by others, it is in vain if you are not unapologetically beholden to the first well and return to it frequently.