Elle Luna : The Crossroads of should and must
If you are at the beginning of your creative living journey, this book is a great place to start. Elle Luna does a phenomenal job writing a book that is, easy to read, the concepts easy to grasp, and the message motivating. This book is separated into four parts, The crossroads, The origin of should, Must, and lastly The turn. Each section is meant to take you through a journey into your creative unknowns. Starting with Elle's own journey to a must- do lifestyle, and ending with a challenging message to readers to not allow excuses to deter the desire for a passion filled life. The first thing you notice when you open the book is that it has an unconventional structure. Elle steps away from conventional artless imagery, and uses each page to literally paint a picture and inspire readers. The message in the book, matches the visual appearance of the book. Creating an artistic, and visually appealing reading experience. Elle expresses that the crossroads, between should and must is where many of us live. Aware that there is more to life, but too afraid to make a decision. Ultimately leaving us concocting excuses to delay a direction, or regretful when we feel it is too late to begin something new. One of the messages i love in this book is that it is never "too late", there is no onset age for creativity. People of influence as well as the media, send the message that creativity is for the young, or that it is irresponsible to pursue a passion, or practice an art at an older age. This of course is far from the truth, and it is one of the many myths Elle expresses in her book that keep us from moving in a must-do direction. What happens if we debunk the myths, block out the noise, and take the first few steps towards must-do, rather than the should-do. Well, we jump in. we write the first sentence of the book, make the first stroke on the canvas, lace up our running shoes, or play the first note from the songsheet. Must has little to do with planning, and a whole lot to do with actually doing. There is a misconception that creativity has to produce perfection, this misconception should be left out somewhere to die. Perfection (if there is any such thing) comes only after artist labor for their work, not in the beginning stages. This book provides a guiding point, no scientific evidence, or quick fixes, just simple nudge in the right direction. There is no way to prove that there is an actually crossroads, only that we all experience the pull for something beyond our routine existence. Three Questions to ask while reading.
1.Favorite chapter in the book. Part II : The origins of Should. This chapter is about our comfort zones, the comfortable barriers we create to keep use from doing anything that makes us uncomfortable. Elle brings us back to our childhood in this section, reminding us that "shoulds" start out as something our parents taught us to help us navigate the world as children and adolescents. However, somewhere down the line those messages become convoluted, and we begin to box ourselves into our insecurities.
2. Three meaningful quote. - "When you examine the Shoulds of your life, you are consciously choosing to get to know your prison-the expectations from other people's agendas, the belief systems you inhabit but don't truly embrace, and all the things you agreed to without realizing it." -"To choose Must is the greatest thing you can do with your life because the congruent, rooted way of living shines through everything you do". -"We each have unique potential that was given to us at birth, but whether or not we cultivate it is entirely up to us. In its purest sense, Must is why we are here to begin with, and choosing it is the journey of our lives".
3. The take away. Everyday we are at a crossroads, everyday we choose whether we move forward, or remain in the same place.
