INSPIRATION HOUR 01: RICK RUBIN

There’s snow on the ground and lately everybody seems to have been talking about the guy with the white beard, red face and a big belly. You know, the same guy who produced Reign in Blood by Slayer and founded Def Jam.

Rick Rubin, that is.

Lately every creative person seems to have been carrying a bible in their hands – The Creative Act: A Way of Being. Rubin’s new book on creativity.

Rubin is interesting: he is not an artist, but a producer. He is not a critic, either. Doesn't really "understand" music, yet understands it better than anybody else. And from that viewpoint it is not surprising that he presents a kind of unpopular opinion: you don't need to actually build your piece. Do a story and characters and let somebody else write the book. How about it? Ai Weiwei has a team building his ideas, otherwise he wouldn't be able to do anything.

These people are absolute experts on creativity, but not creating. Seems wrong, but it ain’t. Because it's all about seeing. And hearing. It’s all about the idea. Craft is pretty often just a way of polishing a box that is empty.

A Way of Being is a Way of Seeing. That’s why this pairs very well with John Berger. And it can be applied to everything in life, really. To see is to ask questions, to dismantle and repair. To be creative.

In the book, Rubin is as spiritual as he looks. Reminding us that there is nothing more important in life than creativity. When you are creative, you are in tune with the universe. Think about it: all living things aim to find a new way to thrive, then it's passed on epigenetically to the next generation. Creativity is evolution in action. We are the only species that can do it consciously.

I truly believe we are all very creative, but our society and norms kill it, ridicule it. We are so deadly afraid of "failing", that it stands in the way of being creative, living creative lives.

So, as Ethan Hawke says: allow yourself to be creative. In the same interview Hawke says something in the lines of that when you hit a desperate moment in your life you understand art, you connect with the person who has come up with the idea. You find a way forward. And that's why it's so important to share the notes that play in our hearts and souls as that way can evolve.

There’s this one Simpsons episode where Homer doesn’t want to go to church. The family thinks Homer is being blasphemous, but Homer tries to remind them of the importance of rebels, especially in the context of christianity.

Kids, let me tell you about another so-called "wicked" guy, Homer says. He had long hair and some wild ideas, and he didn't always do what other people thought was right. And that man's name was…I forget. But the point is…I forget that too. 

Then Homer turns to Marge: You know who I'm talking about. He used to drive that blue car.

I have no idea who Homer was talking about, but there’s this guy called Jesus, who also had some funky ideas and a new way of seeing. Some say he was the most creative person who ever lived, as his ideas still fly. Highly spiritual, absolutely.

So, why not be a bit spiritual and give the present of creativity to yourself and to others.

It’s true love. It’s the truth. It’s the core of our universe.

Read the book by Rubin or not, but consider connecting to the divine force of creativity and go make some good fucking art.