Your elusive creative genius | Elizabeth Gilbert

Translator: Amaia Crespo Costa Reviewer: Yannick Garcia

I am a writer.

Sóc escriptora.

Writing books is my profession but it's more than that, of course.

Escriure llibres és la meua professió, però és molt més que això, evidentment.

It is also my great lifelong love and fascination.

També ha sigut sempre el gran amor de la meua vida i la meua fascinació.

And I don't expect that that's ever going to change.

I no espere que això canvie mai.

But, that said, something kind of peculiar has happened recently

Però, dit açò, fa poc em va passar una cosa peculiar,

in my life and in my career,

en la meua vida i la meua carrera,

which has caused me to have to recalibrate my whole relationship with this work.

que m'ha fet recalibrar tota la meua relació amb aquest treball.

And the peculiar thing is that I recently wrote this book,

I aquest fet peculiar és que fa poc vaig escriure un llibre,

this memoir called "Eat, Pray, Love"

unes memòries anomenades "Menjar, Resar, Estimar",

which, decidedly unlike any of my previous books,

les quals, a diferència dels meus llibres anteriors,

went out in the world for some reason, and became this big,

ven veure la llum per algun motiu i es van convertir en una obra

mega-sensation, international bestseller thing.

que va causar una gran sensació i va ser supervendes internacional.

The result of which is that everywhere I go now,

De resultes, allà on vaig

people treat me like I'm doomed.

la gent em tracta com si m'hagueren llançat un malefici.

Seriously -- doomed, doomed!

De veritat: un malefici!

Like, they come up to me now, all worried, and they say,

Se m'acosten, tots preocupats, i em diuen:

"No tens por... no tens por de no poder superar-ho mai?

"Aren't you afraid you're never going to be able to top that?

Aren't you afraid you're going to keep writing for your whole life

No tens por de seguir escrivint tota la vida

and you're never again going to create a book

i no crear mai més un llibre

that anybody in the world cares about at all,

que importe a algú, qui siga, ni un poc

ever again?"

mai més?

So that's reassuring, you know.

És tranquilitzador, us ho imagineu.

But it would be worse, except for that I happen to remember

Però podria ser pitjor, resulta que recorde

that over 20 years ago, when I was a teenager,

que fa uns 20 anys, quan vaig començar a dir a la gent --quan era una adolescent--

when I first started telling people that I wanted to be a writer,

que volia ser escriptora,

em trobava amb la mateixa reacció de por.

I was met with this same sort of fear-based reaction.

I la gent em deia: "No tens por de no tindre mai èxit?

And people would say, "Aren't you afraid you're never going to have any success?

Aren't you afraid the humiliation of rejection will kill you?

No tens por que la humiliació del rebuig t'acabe matant?

Aren't you afraid that you're going to work your whole life at this craft

No tens por de treballar tota la vida en aquest art

i que mai no done cap fruit

and nothing's ever going to come of it

i que acabes morint sola en una pila de deixalles de somnis frustrats

and you're going to die on a scrap heap of broken dreams

amb la boca plena de les amargues cendres del fracàs?

with your mouth filled with bitter ash of failure?"

(Riuen)

(Laughter)

Like that, you know.

Tal qual, ja m'enteneu.

The answer -- the short answer to all those questions is, "Yes."

La resposta... la resposta abreviada a totes aquestes preguntes és "Sí".

Yes, I'm afraid of all those things.

Sí, tinc por de totes aquestes coses.

And I always have been.

Sempre n'he tingut.

And I'm afraid of many, many more things besides

I tinc por de moltes, moltes, moltes altres coses

that people can't even guess at,

que la gent no podria ni imaginar.

like seaweed and other things that are scary.

Com les algues marines i altres coses que fan por.

But, when it comes to writing,

Però, quan es tracta d'escriure,

the thing that I've been sort of thinking about lately, and wondering about lately,

el que he pensat últimament, i al que he fet voltes últimament, és: per què?

is why?

Ja sabeu: és racional?

You know, is it rational?

És lògic que s'espere que algú

Is it logical that anybody should be expected

to be afraid of the work that they feel they were put on this Earth to do.

tinga por del treball que sent que li ha estat destinat?

And what is it specifically about creative ventures

Sabeu? Què passa en concret amb les aventures creatives

that seems to make us really nervous about each other's mental health

que sembla que ens posen molt nerviosos sobre la salut mental dels altres

in a way that other careers kind of don't do, you know?

d'una manera que no passa amb altres professions?

Like my dad, for example, was a chemical engineer

Com el meu pare, per exemple; era enginyer químic

and I don't recall once in his 40 years of chemical engineering

i no recorde ni una vegada en els seus 40 anys d'enginyeria química

anybody asking him if he was afraid to be a chemical engineer, you know?

que ningú li preguntara si tenia por de ser enginyer químic.

"That chemical-engineering block, John, how's it going?"

Ningú li deia: "com portes el bloqueig de l'enginyer químic, John?".

It just didn't come up like that, you know?

Simplement, no es donava el cas, sabeu?

But to be fair, chemical engineers as a group

Però, la veritat, els enginyers químics, com a grup,

haven't really earned a reputation over the centuries

no s'han guanyat al llarg dels segles la fama

for being alcoholic manic-depressives.

de ser uns alcohòlics maniac-depressius.

(Laughter)

(Riuen)

We writers, we kind of do have that reputation,

Els escriptors sí que tenim més o menys aquesta reputació,

and not just writers, but creative people across all genres,

i no només els escriptors, sinó que la gent creativa de diversos gèneres

it seems, have this reputation for being enormously mentally unstable.

sembla que també tenen la fama de ser d'allò més inestables mentalment.

And all you have to do is look at the very grim death count

I tot el que heu de fer és mirar la nefasta llista de morts,

in the 20th century alone, of really magnificent creative minds

només en el segle XX, de ments creatives realment magnífiques

who died young and often at their own hands, you know?

que van morir joves, sovint a les seues mans.

And even the ones who didn't literally commit suicide

I fins i tot aquests que no es van suïcidar literalment

seem to be really undone by their gifts, you know.

sembla que estan realment destrossats pel seu do.

Norman Mailer, just before he died, last interview, he said,

Norman Mailer, just abans de morir, a la seua última entrevista, digué:

"Every one of my books has killed me a little more."

"Cadascun dels meus llibres m'ha matat un poc més".

An extraordinary statement to make about your life's work.

Una afirmació extraordinària a fer sobre el treball de la teua vida.

But we don't even blink when we hear somebody say this,

Però ni tan sols ens immutem quan sentim que algú diu açò,

because we've heard that kind of stuff for so long

perquè hem sentit aquestes coses des de fa tant de temps

and somehow we've completely internalized and accepted collectively

i d'alguna manera hem assumit completament i acceptat col·lectivament

this notion that creativity and suffering are somehow inherently linked

la noció que la creativitat i el patiment estan, d'alguna manera, units inherentment

and that artistry, in the end, will always ultimately lead to anguish.

i que l'art, al final, ens conduirà en última instància a l'angoixa.

And the question that I want to ask everybody here today

I la pregunta que vull fer a tots els presents avui ací

is are you guys all cool with that idea?

és: a tots vos sembla bé la idea?

Are you comfortable with that?

Hi esteu còmodes...?,

Because you look at it even from an inch away and, you know --

perquè si es mira ni que siga des de poca distància.. ja m'enteneu...

I'm not at all comfortable with that assumption.

Jo no estic gens còmoda amb aquest pressupòsit.

I think it's odious.

Crec que és detestable.

And I also think it's dangerous,

I també pense que és perillós,

and I don't want to see it perpetuated into the next century.

i no el vull veure perpetuat en el pròxim segle.

Crec que és millor si encoratgem les nostres grans ments creatives a viure.

I think it's better if we encourage our great creative minds to live.

And I definitely know that, in my case -- in my situation --

I definitivament sé que, en el meu cas --en la meua situació--

it would be very dangerous for me to start sort of leaking down that dark path

seria molt perillós començar a davallar a poc a poc per aquest fosc camí

of assumption,

de pressuposicions, sobretot atesa la circumstància

particularly given the circumstance that I'm in right now in my career.

en què em trobe ara en la meua carrera.

Which is -- you know, like check it out,

Que és --ja sabeu, mireu-me--

I'm pretty young, I'm only about 40 years old.

que sóc bastant jove, només tinc uns 40 anys.

Encara em queden potser unes quatre dècades de treball.

I still have maybe another four decades of work left in me.

And it's exceedingly likely that anything I write from this point forward

I és extremadament probable que qualsevol cosa que escriga a partir d'ara

is going to be judged by the world as the work that came after

siga jutjat pel món com l'obra posterior

the freakish success of my last book, right?

a l'inusual èxit del meu últim llibre, no?

I should just put it bluntly, because we're all sort of friends here now --

Ho hauria de dir sense embuts, perquè ara ja som tots amics ací:

it's exceedingly likely that my greatest success is behind me.

el més probable és que el meu èxit més gran ja haja passat.

So Jesus, what a thought!

Déu meu, quina idea!

That's the kind of thought that could lead a person

És la classe d'idea que podria fer que algú

to start drinking gin at nine o'clock in the morning,

començara a beure ginebra a les nou del matí,

and I don't want to go there.

i no vull anar per aquest camí.

(Laughter)

(Riuen)

I would prefer to keep doing this work that I love.

Preferiria seguir fent aquest treball que estime.

Llavors, la pregunta és: com?

And so, the question becomes, how?

And so, it seems to me, upon a lot of reflection,

I llavors, em sembla, després de reflexionar-hi molt,

that the way that I have to work now, in order to continue writing,

que la manera en què he de treballar ara, per a poder seguir escrivint,

is that I have to create some sort of protective psychological construct, right?

és que he de crear alguna espècie de constructe psicològic protector, veritat?

I have to sort of find some way to have a safe distance

He de trobar alguna manera de tenir una distància de seguretat

between me, as I am writing, and my very natural anxiety

entre mi, mentre escric, i la meua angoixa, tan natural,

about what the reaction to that writing is going to be, from now on.

sobre quina serà la reacció sobre el que escric a partir d'ara.

And, as I've been looking, over the last year,

I, mentre he buscat durant l'últim any models per com fer-ho,

for models for how to do that,

I've been sort of looking across time,

d'alguna manera he mirat al llarg del temps

and I've been trying to find other societies

i he intentat trobar altres societats

to see if they might have had better and saner ideas than we have

per a veure si ells tenien idees millors i més assenyades que les nostres

about how to help creative people

sobre com ajudar la gent creativa a controlar

sort of manage the inherent emotional risks of creativity.

els riscos emocionals inherents de la creativitat.

And that search has led me to ancient Greece and ancient Rome.

I aquesta recerca m'ha portat a la Grècia antiga i a la Roma antiga.

So stay with me, because it does circle around and back.

Quedeu-vos amb mi, perquè aquesta idea és circular i tornarem a aquest punt.

But, ancient Greece and ancient Rome --

A la Grècia antiga i a la Roma antiga,

people did not happen to believe that creativity

la gent no pensava que la creativitat

came from human beings back then, OK?

vinguera dels éssers humans en aquella època, d'acord?

People believed that creativity was this divine attendant spirit

La gent pensava que la creativitat era un esperit guardià diví

that came to human beings from some distant and unknowable source,

que venia als humans des d'algun origen llunyà i desconegut,

for distant and unknowable reasons.

per motius llunyans i desconeguts.

The Greeks famously called these divine attendant spirits of creativity "daemons."

Se sap que els grecs anomenaven aquests esperits guardians de la creativitat "dimonis".

Socrates, famously, believed that he had a daemon

És també conegut que Sòcrates pensava que tenia un dimoni

who spoke wisdom to him from afar.

que li transmetia paraules de saviesa des de la distància.

The Romans had the same idea,

Els romans teníen la mateixa idea,

but they called that sort of disembodied creative spirit a genius.

però anomenaven aquesta espècie d'esperit creatiu incorpori "geni".

Which is great, because the Romans did not actually think

El que és genial, perquè els romans, de fet, no pensaven

that a genius was a particularly clever individual.

que un geni fóra un individu esspecialment intel·ligent.

They believed that a genius was this, sort of magical divine entity,

Pensaven que un geni era aquesta espècie d'entitat divina màgica,

who was believed to literally live in the walls of an artist's studio,

que es pensava que literalment vivia entre les parets

de l'estudi d'un artista, una espècie de Dobby, l'elf domèstic de Harry Potter,

kind of like Dobby the house elf,

and who would come out

i que apareixeria i, de manera invisible, ajudaria l'artista amb el seu treball.

and sort of invisibly assist the artist with their work

i donaria forma al resultat d'aquest treball.

and would shape the outcome of that work.

So brilliant -- there it is, right there, that distance that I'm talking about --

Brillant, ací ho teniu, justament açò, aquesta distància de què parlava,

that psychological construct to protect you from the results of your work.

aquesta construcció psicològica per a protegir-vos dels resultats del vostre treball.

And everyone knew that this is how it functioned, right?

I tots sabien com funcionava, veritat?

So the ancient artist was protected from certain things,

De manera que els artistes clàssics estaven protegits de determinades coses,

like, for example, too much narcissism, right?

com, per exemple, el narcicisme excessiu, veritat?

If your work was brilliant, you couldn't take all the credit for it,

Si la teua obra era brillant, no podies penjar-te'n totes les medalles,

everybody knew that you had this disembodied genius who had helped you.

tots sabien que tenies aquest geni incorpori que t'havia ajudat.

If your work bombed, not entirely your fault, you know?

Si el teu treball fracassava, no era completament culpa teua, m'enteneu?

Everyone knew your genius was kind of lame.

Tothom sabia que el teu geni no era una llumenera.

(Laughter)

I així va veure la gent la creativitat a Occident durant molt de temps.

And this is how people thought about creativity in the West

for a really long time.

I llavors arribà el Renaixement i tot va canviar,

And then the Renaissance came and everything changed,

and we had this big idea, and the big idea was,

i tinguérem una idea genial, i la idea genial fou:

let's put the individual human being at the center of the universe

posem l'ésser humà al centre de l'univers

per damunt de tots els déus i misteris, i no hi ha més lloc

above all gods and mysteries,

and there's no more room for mystical creatures

per a les criatures místiques que rebien els dictats divins.

who take dictation from the divine.

And it's the beginning of rational humanism,

I aquest és el principi de l'humanisme racional,

and people started to believe that creativity

i la gent començà a creure que la creativitat

provenia completament del mateix individu.

came completely from the self of the individual.

And for the first time in history,

Per primera vegada en la història,

you start to hear people referring to this or that artist as being a genius,

es va sentir a la gent referir-se a aquest o aquell artista com que era un geni

rather than having a genius.

en lloc de dir que tenia un geni.

And I got to tell you, I think that was a huge error.

I us he de dir que crec que fou un enorme error.

You know, I think that allowing somebody, one mere person

Deixar que algú, una simple persona

to believe that he or she is like, the vessel,

pense que ell o ella és el receptacle,

you know, like the font and the essence and the source

la font i l'essència i l'origen

de tot els misteris divins, creatius, que no es poden conéixer, i eterns

of all divine, creative, unknowable, eternal mystery

is just a smidge too much responsibility to put on one fragile, human psyche.

és massa responsabilitat per a posar sobre una fràgil psique humana.

It's like asking somebody to swallow the sun.

És com demanar a algú que es menge el sol.

It just completely warps and distorts egos,

Simplement perverteix i distorsiona els egos,

and it creates all these unmanageable expectations about performance.

i crea totes aquestes expectatives incontrolables sobre el rendiment.

And I think the pressure of that

I crec que aquesta pressió

has been killing off our artists for the last 500 years.

ha matat els nostres artistes els últims 500 anys.

And, if this is true,

I, si açò és cert,

and I think it is true,

i crec que ho és,

the question becomes, what now?

la pregunta és: i ara què?

Can we do this differently?

Ho podem fer d'una altra manera?

Maybe go back to some more ancient understanding

Potser, tornar a un enteniment més clàssic

about the relationship between humans and the creative mystery.

sobre la relació entre els humans i el misteri creatiu.

Maybe not.

Potser no.

Maybe we can't just erase 500 years of rational humanistic thought

Potser no podem esborrar 500 anys de pensament humanístic racional

in one 18 minute speech.

en una conferència de 18 minuts.

And there's probably people in this audience

I potser hi ha gent entre el públic present

who would raise really legitimate scientific suspicions

que plantejaria recels científics molt vàlids

about the notion of, basically, fairies

sobre la noció, bàsicament, que hi ha fades

who follow people around rubbing fairy juice on their projects and stuff.

que segueixen la gent i apliquen poció de fada a tots els seus projectes i materials.

I'm not, probably, going to bring you all along with me on this.

Probablement, no us convenceré d'açò.

But the question that I kind of want to pose is --

Però la pregunta que vull plantejar és:

you know, why not?

per què no?

Why not think about it this way?

Per què no veure-ho així?

Because it makes as much sense as anything else I have ever heard

Perquè té molt més sentit que cap altra cosa que haja sentit mai

in terms of explaining the utter maddening capriciousness

per a explicar la naturalesa tan tremendament capriciosa

of the creative process.

del procés creatiu.

A process which, as anybody who has ever tried to make something --

Un procés que, com sabrà qualsevol que haja intentat mai fer alguna cosa

--que sou bàsicament tots els presents--

which is to say basically everyone here ---

knows does not always behave rationally.

no sempre funciona de manera racional.

And, in fact, can sometimes feel downright paranormal.

I, de fet, de vegades pot paréixer francament paranormal.

I had this encounter recently

Fa poc, vaig conéixer l'extraordinària poetessa americana Ruth stone,

where I met the extraordinary American poet Ruth Stone,

who's now in her 90s, but she's been a poet her entire life

que té ara una 90 anys, però que ha sigut poetessa tota la vida,

and she told me that when she was growing up in rural Virginia,

i em va dir que, quan va créixer a la Virgínia rural,

she would be out working in the fields,

treballava al camp,

and she said she would feel and hear a poem

i deia que podia tocar i sentir un poema

coming at her from over the landscape.

que venia cap a ella des del paisatge.

And she said it was like a thunderous train of air.

I digué que era com un tren d'aire ensordidor.

And it would come barreling down at her over the landscape.

I que baixava a gran velocitat cap a ella pel paisatge.

I que el sentia acostar-se, perquè sacsejava la terra sota els peus.

And she felt it coming, because it would shake the earth under her feet.

She knew that she had only one thing to do at that point,

Ella sabia que només podia fer una cosa arribat aquell punt,

and that was to, in her words, "run like hell."

que, en les seues paraules, era "córrer com una boja".

And she would run like hell to the house

I corria com una boja cap a casa

and she would be getting chased by this poem,

i la perseguia el poema,

i ella havia d'afagar un paper i un bolígraf

and the whole deal was that she had to get to a piece of paper and a pencil

prou ràpid perquè quan el poema la travessara amb gran enrenou, l'agafara

fast enough so that when it thundered through her, she could collect it

i l'atrapara en el paper.

I altres vegades no era bastant ràpida,

and grab it on the page.

And other times she wouldn't be fast enough,

de manera que corria i corria i corria, i no arribava a la casa

so she'd be running and running, and she wouldn't get to the house

i el poema la travessava ràpidament i se li escapava

and the poem would barrel through her and she would miss it

i diu que el poema continuava pel paisatge

and she said it would continue on across the landscape,

buscant, com deia ella, "un atre poeta".

looking, as she put it "for another poet."

I també hi havia vegades

And then there were these times --

this is the piece I never forgot --

--mai no oblidaré aquesta part--,

she said that there were moments where she would almost miss it, right?

hi havia vegades que quasi el perdia.

So, she's running to the house and she's looking for the paper

De manera que, corria cap a la casa i buscava un paper

i el poema la travessava

and the poem passes through her,

and she grabs a pencil just as it's going through her,

i agafava un bolígraf just quan l'estava travessant

and then she said, it was like she would reach out with her other hand

i diu que llavors allargava l'altre braç

i l'atrapava.

and she would catch it.

Agafava el poema per la cua

She would catch the poem by its tail,

i l'estirava cap arrere novament cap al seu cos

and she would pull it backwards into her body

as she was transcribing on the page.

mentre transcrivia en la pàgina.

And in these instances, the poem would come up on the page perfect and intact

I en aquests moments, el poema apareixia en la pàgina perfecte i intacte,

but backwards, from the last word to the first.

però a la inversa, des de l'última paraula fins a la primera.

(Laughter)

(Riuen)

So when I heard that I was like -- that's uncanny,

I quan vaig sentir açò, vaig pensar: que estrany,

that's exactly what my creative process is like.

el meu procés creatiu és exactament igual.

(Laughter)

(Riuen)

That's not at all what my creative process is -- I'm not the pipeline!

No s'assembla en absolut al meu procés creatiu, no sóc cap canonada!

I'm a mule, and the way that I have to work

Sóc com les mules i la meua manera de treballar

is I have to get up at the same time every day,

és alçar-me cada dia a la mateixa hora,

i suar i esforçar-me i esforçar-m'hi com puc.

and sweat and labor and barrel through it really awkwardly.

Però, fins i tot jo, en la meua tossuderia de mula,

But even I, in my mulishness,

even I have brushed up against that thing, at times.

fins i tot jo he lluitat contra això, de vegades.

And I would imagine that a lot of you have too.

I imagine que molts de vosaltres també.

You know, even I have had work or ideas come through me from a source

Ja sabeu, fins i tot jo he tingut obres o idees que m'han vingut d'una font

that I honestly cannot identify.

que, sincerament, no puc identificar.

And what is that thing?

I què és aquesta cosa?

And how are we to relate to it in a way that will not make us lose our minds,

I com ens hi entendrem de manera que no perdem el cap

but, in fact, might actually keep us sane?

sinó que, de fet, ens ajude a no perdre el seny?

And for me, the best contemporary example that I have of how to do that

I, per a mi, el millor exemple contemporani que tinc de com fer-ho

is the musician Tom Waits,

és el músic Tom Waits,

who I got to interview several years ago on a magazine assignment.

a qui vaig entrevistar fa uns anys per una encomanda d'una revista.

And we were talking about this,

I vam parlar d'açò,

and you know, Tom, for most of his life, he was pretty much the embodiment

i ja sabeu, Tom, la major part de la seua vida ha estat la personificació

of the tormented contemporary modern artist,

de l'artista turmentat contemporani modern,

que intenta controlar i dominar

trying to control and manage and dominate

these sort of uncontrollable creative impulses

aquesta espècie d'impulsos creatius incontrolables

that were totally internalized.

que tenia totalment interioritzats.

But then he got older, he got calmer,

Però es va fer major, es va calmar,

and one day he was driving down the freeway in Los Angeles,

i un dia conduïa per l'autopista de Los Angeles, em va dir,

and this is when it all changed for him.

i fou quan tot canvià per a ell.

And he's speeding along, and all of a sudden

I anava a gran velocitat, i, de sobte,

he hears this little fragment of melody,

sent part d'una melodia

that comes into his head as inspiration often comes, elusive and tantalizing,

que li ve al cap com ve sovint la inspiració, difícil d'atrapar, temptadora,

and he wants it, it's gorgeous,

i la vol, i és preciosa,

and he longs for it, but he has no way to get it.

i la desitja, però no té manera d'aconseguir-la.

He doesn't have a piece of paper, or a pencil, or a tape recorder.

No té paper, no té bolígraf,

no té una gravadora.

So he starts to feel all of that old anxiety start to rise in him

Comença a sentir aquella ansietat de sempre que li creix a dins

de l'estil de "Perdré aquesta cançó,

like, "I'm going to lose this thing,

and I'll be be haunted by this song forever.

i em perseguirà tota la vida.

I'm not good enough, and I can't do it."

No sóc suficientment bo, no ho puc fer".

And instead of panicking, he just stopped.

I, en lloc de deixar-se envair pel pànic, es va aturar.

He just stopped that whole mental process and he did something completely novel.

Va parar aquell procés mental™

i va fer una cosa completament novedosa.

He just looked up at the sky, and he said,

Va mirar el cel i va dir:

"Excuse me, can you not see that I'm driving?"

"Perdona, que no veus que estic conduint?".

(Laughter)

(Riuen)

"Do I look like I can write down a song right now?

"Et sembla que puc escriure una cançó ara mateix?

If you really want to exist, come back at a more opportune moment

Si de veritat vols existir, torna en un moment més oportú,

when I can take care of you.

quan puga ocupar-me de tu.

Otherwise, go bother somebody else today.

Si no, vés a destorbar algú altre hui.

Go bother Leonard Cohen."

Vés a destorbar Leonard Cohen".

And his whole work process changed after that.

I el seu mètode de treball canvià completament després d'allò.

Not the work, the work was still oftentimes as dark as ever.

No les obres, les obres encara eren sovint tan fosques com sempre.

But the process, and the heavy anxiety around it

Però el procés, la intensa ansietat que l'envoltava

was released when he took the genie, the genius out of him

es va alliberar quan es va traure el geni de dins,

where it was causing nothing but trouble, and released it back where it came from,

on només causava problemes, i el va alliberar i el va tornar al lloc d'on provenia,

i es va adonar que no havia de ser aquella cosa turmentada, interioritzada.

and realized that this didn't have to be this internalized, tormented thing.

Podia ser una col·laboració estranya, meravellosa, estrambòtica;

It could be this peculiar, wondrous, bizarre collaboration,

kind of conversation between Tom and the strange, external thing

una espècie de conversa entre Tom i aquella cosa estranya i externa

that was not quite Tom.

que no era ben bé Tom.

When I heard that story, it started to shift a little bit

De manera que quan vaig sentir la història, vaig començar a canviar un poc

the way that I worked too, and this idea already saved me once.

la meua manera de treballar, i aquest fet ja m'ha salvat una vegada.

It saved me when I was in the middle of writing "Eat, Pray, Love,"

Aquesta idea em va salvar quan estava escrivint "Menjar, resar, estimar"

and I fell into one of those sort of pits of despair

i vaig caure en un d'aquells pous de desesperació

that we all fall into when we're working on something and it's not coming

en què solem caure quan treballem en una cosa i no resulta

and you start to think this is going to be a disaster, the worst book ever written.

i comencem a pensar que serà un desastre,

aquest serà el pitjor llibre que s'ha escrit mai.

Not just bad, but the worst book ever written.

No simplement dolent, sinó el pitjor llibre que s'ha escrit mai.

I vaig començar a pensar que hauria d'abandonar aquest projecte.

And I started to think I should just dump this project.

But then I remembered Tom talking to the open air

Però, llavors, vaig recordar Tom parlant al cel

and I tried it.

i ho vaig intentar.

So I just lifted my face up from the manuscript

De manera que vaig alçar el cap del manuscrit

and I directed my comments to an empty corner of the room.

i vaig adreçar els meus comentaris a un racó buit de l'habitació.

And I said aloud, "Listen you, thing,

I vaig dir en veu alta: "Escolta, cosa,

you and I both know that if this book isn't brilliant

tu i jo sabem que si aquest llibre no és brillant

that is not entirely my fault, right?

no és del tot culpa meua, veritat?

Because you can see that I am putting everything I have into this,

Perquè veus que hi estic posant tot el que tinc,

I don't have any more than this.

no tinc més que açò.

If you want it to be better, you've got to show up and do your part of the deal.

De manera que, si vols que siga millor, has d'aparéixer i fer la teua part del tracte.

D'acord. Però si no ho fas, saps què?, tant fa.

But if you don't do that, you know what, the hell with it.

Pense seguir escrivint igualment perquè és el meu treball.

I'm going to keep writing anyway because that's my job.

And I would please like the record to reflect today

I, per favor, m'agradaria que constara en acta que hui

jo m'he presentat per a fer la meua part del treball.

that I showed up for my part of the job."

(Riuen)

(Laughter)

Because --

Perquè...

(Applause)

(Aplaudeixen)

Because in the end it's like this, OK --

al cap i a la fi és així, oi?

centuries ago in the deserts of North Africa,

fa segles, en els deserts de l'Àfrica del Nord,

people used to gather for these moonlight dances of sacred dance and music

la gent solia reunir-se a la llum de la lluna per a fer danses sagrades i música

that would go on for hours and hours, until dawn.

que duraven hores i hores fins que es feia de dia.

They were always magnificent, because the dancers were professionals

I sempre eren magnífiques, perquè els ballarins eren professionals

and they were terrific, right?

i eren genials, veritat?

Però, de tant en tant, molt poques vegades, passava alguna cosa,

But every once in a while, very rarely, something would happen,

and one of these performers would actually become transcendent.

i un d'aquests artistes esdevenia transcendent.

And I know you know what I'm talking about,

I sé que sabeu de què parle,

because I know you've all seen, at some point in your life,

perquè sé que tots heu vist, en algun moment de la vostra vida, una actuació així.

a performance like this.

It was like time would stop,

Com si el temps es detinguera,

and the dancer would sort of step through some kind of portal

i el ballarí d'alguna manera travessara una espècie de portal

i no estiguera fent res diferent del que ha fet anteriorment, 1.000 nits abans,

and he wasn't doing anything different

than he had ever done, 1,000 nights before,

but everything would align.

però tot s'alineara.

And all of a sudden, he would no longer appear to be merely human.

I, de sobte, deixava de semblar merament humà.

S'il·luminava des de l'interior, i des de baix

He would be lit from within, and lit from below

and all lit up on fire with divinity.

i tot s'encenia com un foc amb divinitat.

And when this happened, back then,

I quan açò passava, en aquells temps,

people knew it for what it was, you know, they called it by its name.

la gent sabia per què era, tenien un nom per anomenar-ho,

They would put their hands together and they would start to chant,

ajuntaven les mans i començaven a cantar:

"Allah, Allah, Allah, God, God, God."

"Al·là, Al·là, Al·là, Déu, Déu, Déu".

That's God, you know.

Això és Déu.

Curious historical footnote:

Un apunt històric curiós:

when the Moors invaded southern Spain, they took this custom with them

quan els àrabs envaïren el sud d'Espanya, importaren aquest costum

and the pronunciation changed over the centuries

i la pronunciació canvià al llarg dels segles

from "Allah, Allah, Allah," to "Olé, olé, olé,"

d'"Al·là, Al·là, Al·là" a "Olé, olé, olé",

which you still hear in bullfights and in flamenco dances.

que encara se sent en les corregudes de bous i en els balls flamencs.

In Spain, when a performer has done something impossible and magic,

A Espanya, quan un artista ha fet alguna cosa impossible i màgica, li diuen

"Allah, olé, olé, Allah, magnificent, bravo,"

"Al·là, olé, olé, magnífic, bravo",

incomprehensible, there it is -- a glimpse of God.

incomprensible, ahí ho teniu: una fugaç visió de Déu.

Which is great, because we need that.

La qual cosa és genial, perquè ho necessitem.

But, the tricky bit comes the next morning,

Però la part delicada ve al matí següent,

for the dancer himself, when he wakes up and discovers

per al propi ballarí, quan es desperta

that it's Tuesday at 11 a.m., and he's no longer a glimpse of God.

i troba que és dimarts a les 11 del matí, i que ja no és una fugaç visió de Déu.

He's just an aging mortal with really bad knees,

Que simplement és un mortal envellit amb molt de mal de genolls,

and maybe he's never going to ascend to that height again.

i que potser no tornarà a arribar tan alt mai més.

And maybe nobody will ever chant God's name again as he spins,

I potser mai ningú no tornarà a cantar el nom de Déu mentre ell fa voltes,

and what is he then to do with the rest of his life?

i, llavors, què ha de fer ell la resta de la seua vida?

This is hard.

És dur.

This is one of the most painful reconciliations to make

És una de les reconciliacions més doloroses que s'han de fer

in a creative life.

en la vida creativa.

But maybe it doesn't have to be quite so full of anguish

Però potser no ha d'estar tan ple d'angoixa

if you never happened to believe, in the first place,

si no creus mai, en primer lloc,

that the most extraordinary aspects of your being came from you.

que els aspectes més extraordinaris del teu ésser vénen de tu mateix.

But maybe if you just believed that they were on loan to you

Sinó, potser, si simplement creus que te'ls havia prestat

from some unimaginable source for some exquisite portion of your life

una font inimaginable per a una exquisida part de la teua vida

to be passed along when you're finished,

per a passar-la, quan hi acabes, a algú altre.

with somebody else.

And, you know, if we think about it this way, it starts to change everything.

I, ja sabeu, si ho veiem d'aquesta manera, tot comença a canviar.

This is how I've started to think,

Jo he començat a pensar així,

and this is certainly how I've been thinking in the last few months

i certament és com he pensat els últims mesos

as I've been working on the book that will soon be published,

mentre he treballat en el llibre que es publicarà prompte,

as the dangerously, frighteningly over-anticipated follow up

el que serà la continuació tan espantosament esperada

to my freakish success.

del meu èxit fora mida.

And what I have to sort of keep telling myself

I el que he de dir-me a mi mateixa

when I get really psyched out about that is don't be afraid.

quan m'obsessione aquest tema

és: no tingues por.

Don't be daunted. Just do your job.

No et sentes intimidada.

Limita't a fer el teu treball.

Continue to show up for your piece of it, whatever that might be.

Continua presentant-te per a la teua part del treball, siga quin siga.

If your job is to dance, do your dance.

Si el teu treball és ballar, balla.

If the divine, cockeyed genius assigned to your case

Si el geni diví i malgirbat que han assignat al teu cas

decides to let some sort of wonderment be glimpsed, for just one moment

decideix deixar que es puga entreveure un cert astorament un instant

through your efforts, then "Olé!"

gràcies als teus esforços, llavors "Olé!".

I si no, tu balla igualment.

And if not, do your dance anyhow.

And "Olé!" to you, nonetheless.

I "Olé" per a tu, igualment.

I believe this and I feel that we must teach it.

Ho crec i sent que ho hem d'ensenyar.

"Olé!" per a tots vosaltres, igualment,

"Olé!" to you, nonetheless,

just for having the sheer human love and stubbornness

simplement per tenir l'amor humà i la simple tenacitat

to keep showing up.

per a seguir presentant-vos al treball.

Thank you.

Gràcies.

(Applause)

(Aplaudeixen)

Thank you.

Gràcies.

(Applause)

(Aplaudeixen)

June Cohen: Olé!

June Cohen: Olé!

(Applause)

(Aplaudeixen)