In my life, there are countless people who have served as inspiration and motivation for my creative endeavors. But two figures stand out above the rest: the legendary singer-songwriter Aretha Franklin and the renowned author and philosopher Alain de Botton. Though I never realized it before, the two have — somewhat unintentionally — shared a very similar message about thought.
The iconic track "Think" by Aretha Franklin, an anthem of female empowerment, features the powerful phrase "let your mind go, let yourself be free." Though it was not the line's original intention, it has gained new significance for me during my personal struggles with the creative process, particularly in writing and translation. The frustration of not being able to "think" and feeling trapped in my own mind is something that I'm sure many others can relate to.
The mind is an intermittent instrument whose ideas come out in dribs and drabs.
Alain de Botton and his team at The School of Life have addressed this very issue in their fantastic book "How to Think More Effectively: A Guide to Greater Productivity, Insight and Creativity." The book states, "Our minds do not disclose their more elaborate and best thoughts in one go. The mind is an intermittent instrument whose ideas come out in dribs and drabs. It is capable of a few inspired moves, then falls silent and needs to rest and to lie fallow for bewilderingly long periods."
Reading this passage was like a breath of fresh air for me. The number of times I've sat at my desk, desperately trying to squeeze some juice out of an idea, only to come up with nothing, is countless. But now I know that the answer was simply to wait and "let myself be free."
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