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Claire Mastromonaco's avatar

“The pursuit of happiness “ will not lead to happiness. Let happiness happen serendipitously!

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Dave Ratzlow's avatar

I love this idea of self-discovery through witnessing and co-creation. As a writer primarily working solo at the moment, I often forget that all creative works are collaborations—at the very least with an audience, with history, and with time. Often, they involve direct collaboration with other creative people as well.

Filmmakers I know (who often have hundreds of collaborators) talk about this all the time. There's the film you intend to create, the one you make with the crew, the one you shape with the editor, and later still, the one that emerges with the audience, time, and history. Each version is distinct, yet all of them exist.

I also appreciate this idea of entering a flow state through surrender. But that can feel risky for those of us taught to protect ourselves. We develop patterns and internalize messages that block flow (e.g., "I will be attacked if I take up too much space," or "My ideas are never appreciated"). On the other hand, anyone who easily enters a flow state also needs a good editor. Not every idea needs to be shared; not every idea is our best.

Letting things unfold, going with the flow, ideally allows us to see things as they are, rather than through the screen of our conditioned thinking. Collaborating with diverse communities seems key to eroding those screens and expanding our understanding of our current limits.

One way to define both intelligence and creativity is as the ability to see clearly what is happening right now and to respond flexibly, rather than relying on a rigid set of responses. The more we can enter a flow state with others, the smarter and more creative we become.

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