And if there is one thing that I, if I had the chance to do it over again, could’ve done differently, would’ve been to walk into it in a stance of surrender — arms collapsed, no clipboard, no agenda, no cherished outcome — and to have almost gone limp into it, which is not the same thing as hopelessness, but it is a very powerful stance to take in the wake of something that is bigger than you are.

Elizabeth Gilbert

The idea that surrender as a powerful stance makes sense to me. In particular, surrendering to creativity makes sense to me in the way that doing the thing you must do — that thing that you know you must do — is powerful. When we do the thing we must do, whatever that thing is, we are enlisting our angels, our muscles, our mind, our heart, and our soul in a process that is bigger than we understand. In surrendering, we are not alone on our path. In surrendering, we have the strength of multitudes of real and imagined forces. In surrendering, there is clarity of purpose and quiet resolution of fear and doubt. There is peace in inviting others in. A weight is lifted when hope guides our days.

What if surrendering is the heart of creativity? If surrendering is the heart of creativity, then ego steps aside to practice. If surrendering is the heart of creativity, then gratitude for the presence, attention, joy, and awe are the pulse of the process. If surrendering is the heart of creativity, then love — which is bigger than us all — is our ultimate guide and goal. Love that we can see, taste, touch, and feel.

Pico Ilyer and Elizabeth Gilbert