“Every idea is a oui.”
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Hi Reader, I’m late to the party on this topic, but what about the Paris Olympics opening ceremony? OMG! I missed it live (I know, I KNOW!), but, we pay for SO.MANY. streaming services, and, alas, NBC/Peacock/Whetevertheheck is not one of them. Instead I’ve been catching up with YouTube highlights, the online chatter, the sheer joy of it all, the unabashed excitement that everyone needs right now after the shitstorm we’ve been living through, and, yes, the conservative criticism—it was the Feast of Dionysus NOT the Last Supper already! I read somewhere (and now I don’t remember where, so I can’t give proper credit), that Dionysus, being the Greek god of wine, fertility, and theater, is the perfect tribute for the Paris Olympics because he embodies feasts, festivities, celebration, fabulousness—all things captured by both the French and Olympic culture. Something else I read was this Substack post by Courtney Maum titled “What the Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony Can Teach Us about First Drafts.” It’s a great read, and I recommend you check it out, but the thing I love most is how she’s talking about the opening ceremony with her friends and one of them says they imagine the creative director saying, “Every idea is a oui”—and that’s exactly what we ended up with in the performance. Courtney goes on to write that we should maintain such an attitude with our creative work—say YES to everything—and approach creativity with an abundance mindset. I couldn’t agree more. In fact, it’s been a theme lately. In the open office hour/virtual birthday party I hosted last month, I started the session by pulling cards from my oracle decks. I pulled four total cards and one of them was this one that says, “My fearless freedom lights up the world.” During the course of our conversation, we got on the topic of imposter syndrome and one of my clients on the call shared this quote from the foreword of Zadie Smith’s essay collection Feel Free: “It’s true that for years I’ve been thinking aloud—and often wondering if I’ve made myself ludicrous in one way or another. I think the anxiety comes from knowing that I have no real qualifications to write as I do. Not a philosopher or sociologist, not a real professor of literature or film, not a political scientist, professional music critic or trained journalist. I’m employed in an MFA program, but have no MFA myself, and no PhD. My evidence—such as it is—is almost always intimate. I feel this—do you? I’m struck by this thought—are you? Essays, about one person’s affective experience have, by their very nature, not a leg to stand on. All they have is their freedom.” ALL THEY HAVE IS THEIR FREEDOM. I take this to mean all WE have is our freedom. Freedom to create. Freedom to express ourselves. Freedom to say whatever the f*%$k we want to say. Freedom to be who we are, AND freedom to figure out who we are. Every idea is a oui. As I was writing this email draft, I did a quick Google search to see if I could find any comments from Thomas Jolly, the creative director of the opening ceremony. Would you believe this is what I found: “In France, we have freedom of creation, artistic freedom. We are lucky in France to live in a free country. I didn’t have any specific messages that I wanted to deliver. In France, we are republic, we have the right to love whom we want, we have the right not to be worshippers, we have a lot of rights in France, and this is what I wanted to convey.” Freedom of creation. Artistic freedom. In other words, freedom equals EVERY IDEA IS A OUI. I LOVE this sentiment. I love the pure, unadulterated unburdening of pressure, of expectations, of doing what you’re supposed to do. It’s inspiring, isn’t it? But. I know that being inspired is different, and very separate from, being empowered. By that I mean there often lies a huge gulf between the swell of collective inspiration and the impetus for individual action. So let me remind you that this freedom we’re talking about is not exclusive. It’s not reserved only for Thomas Jolly or the French or the Olympic athletes or Courtney Maum and her published author friends. It’s available to YOU. The only person who can give it to you, though, is yourself. You must free yourself. You must acknowledge that this freedom exists for you, and you must take it. You must say to yourself: “Every idea a oui.” Janna p.s. This theme continues in this essay by Susie Pratt, who shared the Zadie Smith quote with me initially, and uses it in this essay. Go. Read. Be inspired. Then take action. Have a question or some thoughts to share? Hit reply. Your email lands right in my inbox. Here’s a way for you to take action:Join me for my next mini-virtual writing retreat for women writing nonfiction.
Who am I and what’s this email all about? I’m Janna. I’m a book coach and editor for women writing nonfiction. I write weekly emails with tips, motivation, inspiration, and encouragement for the writing and creative life. I support women with coaching and editing on writing, finishing, and publishing their nonfiction books in my private community More to the Story. (Yes, editing and manuscript review is available for community members.) One of my mantras is: Tell stories without shame. I believe that we can find health, wellness, and happiness in life when we share our personal story with others, because it helps us come to terms with what makes us who we are. |