That's Genius

You are not a genius. But, if you've ever experienced a moment of spontaneous inspiration that you simply cannot explain, you may have a genius, according to Elizabeth Gilbert's TED Talk "Your Elusive Creative Genius" (video below). Gilbert explains that in ancient Rome "genius" did not refer to a person, but to a creative spirit that rained inspiration and aid onto writers, musicians, dancers, etc. The benefit of this view, she explains, is that if a work flops, the genius is also partly to blame; similarly, if a work is highly successful, a writer must give credit to their genius and cannot claim it is solely of their own creation. It keeps creative minds sane.

I watched Gilbert's TED Talk approximately three years ago, shortly after seeing a documentary on the white-tailed tropic bird. This bird mesmerized me with its long, sleek, white tail that trails through the air as the bird glides and dives near ocean cliffs. And I felt it: my genius, if it had a form, would be the white-tailed tropic bird. I promptly changed my laptop background to a picture of the bird rocketing above the waves to remind me to write. Inspiration, no inspiration-- it need not matter because eventually my genius will chip in to do its part. I used to wait until the first line of a story or poem would attach itself to my brain to begin writing, but I wanted to learn to start with nothing and create something. To this day, my laptop background is still the white-tailed tropic bird.

One problem:
I haven't been writing.

I've made stabs at stories and penned a poem or two since then, but my writing habits seemed to write themselves off. A full-time teaching job has not helped, try as I might to adopt the philosophy of my Puerto Rican coworkers to not bring much work home. Somehow, not-writing became my routine. But then my genius showed up.

The salt sections were to the left, the beach to the right. 

Yesterday was our first official day of Spring Break and so a few friends and I ventured to the Southwestern-most tip of the island to Playa Sucia. The beach is part of a natural reserve--and the DNR was there to protect it, knowing it would be busy. There were areas of the ocean that are saturated with so much salt that the water is pink! Another section looked identical to a frozen lake with a light layer of smooth, glittery snow sitting peacefully on top, not a wave disturbing it. These areas are not part of the beach itself, but are along the road leading up to it and they are used to "mine" salt.

Playa Sucia, from the main part of the beach.

The beach area was stunning, of course. Puerto Rico never seems to stop showing me the extravagance of nature and I've learned I'm a sucker for anything ocean-related. Along the right side of the beach were some rocky cliffs, easily hiked, that lead up to a lighthouse. We took in the various views from each cliff edge, all showing the same view but in a slightly different way. At the very top, just before we decided to enter the lighthouse, I saw them. White birds trailing a banner of white after them through the sky. I thought I had seen them near Guayama at the beach, but after seeing them up close I realize I was mistaken. They were magnificent.

Two of the white-tailed tropic birds that stopped me in my tracks.

I half-skipped half-ran to the edge of the cliff to watch them and attempted to snap a few pictures. Three years ago I was enchanted by a documentary on white-tailed tropic birds, and yet part of me never expected to see one in real life. Since moving to Puerto Rico I'd been keeping my eye out for them, just in case, but they had become more of a symbolic ideal of creativity and writing that I only hoped, but did not actively seek, to return to.  But there I was, watching them pirouette above ocean cliffs, swoop down above the waves and somehow gracefully shoot back up to the cliffs like it was the easiest thing in the world. And I realized that was the end of my excuse to not-write. Because you simply cannot stop a creative spirit.

 Gilbert's TED Talk, "Your Elusive Creative Genius"