Generosity
September 11th, 2011 § 2 Comments
Two ideas collided in my brain this morning. One is an idea from the wonderfully named Twyla Tharp’s book The Creative Habit which I am enjoying hugely. Tharp is a choreographer. She creates dances. But what she has learnt about creativity transfers to all fields, from business to baking cakes. She writes about the importance of being generous to others:
Be generous. I don’t use that word lightly. Generosity is luck going in the opposite direction, away from you. If you’re generous to someone, if you do something to help him out, you are in effect making him lucky. This is important. It’s like inviting yourself into a community of good fortune.
When I read these words, I thought of a generous, random act of kindness which had been brought to my attention by The Daughter. It’s an elaborate piece of improvisation that is hell-bent on making one small boy particularly lucky that day.
I love Tharp’s book and have recommended it to many people; my blog post about it was chosen for Freshly Pressed as well…
http://broadsideblog.wordpress.com/2011/04/01/would-you-rather-be-productive-or-creative/
Thanks for the Bryant Park video. Fun! I live in NY and the idea of just having fun for its own sake is a little radical there.
Great post Caitlin – thanks for the link. Here’s to more Bryant Park moments in NY!