Have you seen the movie “The Martian” yet?
Matt Damon and his Martian Potatoes totally bring home what I wrote about last week: the first of 7 Steps to Harness the Deep Flow of Your Heart and Soul.
That first step is creativity. I talked, as I so often do, about how creativity, the way I define it, is actually the flow of your life force.
Without revealing too much about the film, Matt Damon is an astronaut who gets left behind on Mars and has to figure out how to survive. (When another viewer described it to me that way, I sort of shrugged.)
But watching the movie, I saw how intensely creative Matt Damon’s character is about solving his enormous challenges. His acts appear driven not so much by desperation, as by a hunger to find creative solutions.
My reaction was to wonder this: if the character had been provided with everything necessary to survive until the next Mars mission, would he have survived? I think he might have died of loneliness or boredom, or some kind of deep soul sickness like depression.
I think Matt Damon’s character makes it because he jumps straight into creativity, opening and filling his life force. He doesn’t just survive, he manages to thrive.
Another ode to Matt Damon and his Martian Potatoes: watching “The Martian” made me think of my Wisconsin farmer-dude brothers, Rob and David. I have seen both of them create equally elegant and clever solutions to practical challenges.
Here’s to Necessity, the mother of invention—and all those who take up her mantle!
Coach’s Challenge: Watch “The Martian” and think about this take on creativity as life force flow. Now look at your life: where do you have the creative tap turned up high, where could it use greater flow?
