The Art of Reception

In the end what makes a project great is not ability or natural talent.  It’s receptibility.

Let me explain.    

Debatably even a word (my spell check says it is not), receptibility means one’s capacity to receive.  To listen. To capture an idea. To breath in, then breath out. It becomes vital to a definition of inspiration if that definition asserts in any way the person (artist, artisan, writer) making great work is actually being inspired to make it.

We have all sat through performances of someone who believed they were inspired but clearly (and painfully) were not.  They may have thoroughly loved the process of creating or maybe even loved performing, but something - talent and grace yes, but actual inspiration, was clearly missing. 

Such exceptions may prove the rule more than break it.  Real inspiration finds its way to the right people. Those with the gift of receptibility, the art of taking inspiration in and breathing it out. Even if they are not the most talented person for the job, especially at first.  

Inspiration picks who she will.  

Over the centuries we can think of people who became the right people for their generation, ones who received from inspiration well even without proper training or background.

What some call the “zeitgeist” or the spirit of the age. Those who say the right things at the right time in the right way. They speak for their time as if animated by some unseen force or spirit.  Their voice is heard.

Why them?  Why their voice? 

That million dollar question may have no obvious answer, but perhaps the common thread is simply this passive ability to receive. And believe. Joseph and his dreams. David and his secret anointing. Mary and her vision. All simply received, and believed.  

Those with too much ambition miss the point.  Even if they achieve their goals, they do not win the hearts of the people.  Their story is blind to transcendence. The people are looking for the zeitgeist. 

It’s why YouTube couldn’t re-break already-made celebrities.  They already “won” their prize.  The people are looking for willing newbies to speak for their generation. To somehow win the right to speak.

What they say matters. How they got to say it just matters more.

Our story is just as important as our product.  In fact, it may be the real product.  If one is only proving to the world they can do something, we yawn. We have heard that story. We are looking for the reluctant prophet, the shot in the dark who truly (and yes, passively) has received from Inspiration herself.

That is what makes a story worth listening to. Yes there will be cultural purists at every step of the way, checking the artifacts of our past. But whatever credentials happen to be in vogue at the time can’t and don’t compare to the transcendent power of actual inspiration.

Are you inspired? If so, then so is your story. Let’s hear it!