As an improvising musician, I am not in the music business, I am not in the creativity business; I am in the surrender business.
Stephen NachmanovitchSurrender means cultivating a comfortable attitude toward not knowing, being nurtured by the mystery of moments that are dependably surprising, ever fresh.
Stephen NachmanovitchCreativity can replace conformity as the primary mode of social being. . . . We can cling to that which is passing, or has already passed, or we can remain accessible to-even surrender to-the creative process, without insisting that we know in advance the ultimate outcome for us, our institutions, or our planet. To accept this challenge is to cherish freedom, to embrace life, and to find meaning.
Stephen NachmanovitchPlay, intrinsically rewarding, doesn't cost anything; as soon as you put a price on it, it becomes, to some extent, not play.
Stephen NachmanovitchThe Western Idea of practice is to acquire a skill. It is very much related to your work ethic, which enjoins us to endure struggle or boredom now in return for future rewards. The Eastern idea of practice, on the other hand, is to create the person, or rather to actualize or reveal the complete person who is already there.... Not only is practice necessary to art, it is art.
Stephen Nachmanovitch