4 Lessons in Creativity | Julie Burstein | TED Talks

Translator: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Morton Bast

Translator: Trine Frank Nielsen Reviewer: Anders Finn Jørgensen

On my desk in my office, I keep a small clay pot

På mit skrivebord på kontoret har jeg en lille lerpotte,

that I made in college. It's raku, which is a kind of pottery

som jeg lavede i gymnasiet. Den er af raku, som er en slags keramik

that began in Japan centuries ago as a way of

der opstod i Japan for flere århundreder siden som en måde at

making bowls for the Japanese tea ceremony.

lave skåle til de Japanske teceremonier på.

This one is more than 400 years old.

Denne her er mere end 400 år gammel.

Each one was pinched or carved out of a ball of clay,

Hver og en blev knebet eller skåret ud af en klump ler,

and it was the imperfections that people cherished.

og det var skønhedsfejlene, der blev skattet.

Everyday pots like this cup take eight to 10 hours to fire.

Hverdagspotter som denne kop tager otte til ti timer at brænde.

I just took this out of the kiln last week, and the kiln itself

Jeg tog denne ud af ovnen i sidste uge, og ovnen selv

takes another day or two to cool down, but raku

er endnu en dag eller to om at køle ned, men for raku

is really fast. You do it outside, and you take the kiln

går det rigtig hurtigt. Du gør det udenfor. Du varmer ovnen

up to temperature. In 15 minutes, it goes to 1,500 degrees,

godt op. På 15 minutter når den op på 1500 grader,

and as soon as you see that the glaze has melted inside,

og ligeså snart du kan se, glasuren er smeltet derinde,

you can see that faint sheen, you turn the kiln off,

og du kan se en svag glans, så slukker du for ovnen,

and you reach in with these long metal tongs,

og så griber du en af disse lange metaltænger

you grab the pot, and in Japan, this red-hot pot

og tager potten med, og i Japan ville denne rødglødende potte

would be immediately immersed in a solution of green tea,

straks blive sænket ned i en opløsning af grøn te,

and you can imagine what that steam would smell like.

og du kan nok forestille dig, hvordan den damp vil dufte.

But here in the United States, we ramp up the drama

Men her i USA skruer vi en anelse op for dramaet

a little bit, and we drop our pots into sawdust,

og smider vores potter ned i savsmuld,

which catches on fire, and you take a garbage pail,

som der så går ild i. Så tager du en skraldespand,

and you put it on top, and smoke starts pouring out.

og sætter den ovenpå, og så begynder røgen at sive ud.

I would come home with my clothes reeking of woodsmoke.

Jeg ville komme hjem med tøj stinkende af trærøg.

I love raku because it allows me to play with the elements.

Jeg elsker raku, fordi jeg kan lege med elementerne.

I can shape a pot out of clay and choose a glaze,

Jeg kan forme en potte af ler og vælge en glasur,

but then I have to let it go to the fire and the smoke,

men så må jeg overlade den til ilden og røgen,

and what's wonderful is the surprises that happen,

og det smukke er de overraskelser, der opstår,

like this crackle pattern, because it's really stressful

som dette krakelerende mønster, for det er virkelig stressende

on these pots. They go from 1,500 degrees

for disse potter. De går fra 1500 grader

to room temperature in the space of just a minute.

til rumtemperatur på blot et minut.

Raku is a wonderful metaphor for the process of creativity.

Raku er en skøn metafor for den kreative proces.

I find in so many things that tension between

Jeg oplever gang på gang, at spændingen mellem

what I can control and what I have to let go

hvad jeg kan kontrollere, og det jeg må give slip på,

happens all the time, whether I'm creating a new radio show

hele tiden er til stede, uanset om jeg er i gang med en ny radioudsendelse

or just at home negotiating with my teenage sons.

eller blot derhjemme i gang med at forhandle med mine teenagesønner.

When I sat down to write a book about creativity,

Da jeg gik i gang med at skrive en bog om kreativitet,

I realized that the steps were reversed.

indså jeg, at processen var omvendt.

I had to let go at the very beginning, and I had to

Jeg måtte give slip til at begynde med, og jeg måtte

immerse myself in the stories of hundreds of artists

fordybe mig i historierne, som de hundredvis af kunstnere,

and writers and musicians and filmmakers, and as I listened

forfattere, musikere og filmproducenter fortalte, og mens jeg lyttede

to these stories, I realized that creativity

til deres historier, indså jeg, at kreativitet

grows out of everyday experiences

opstår ud af hverdagsoplevelser,

more often than you might think, including

oftere end du måske tror, og det indebærer

letting go.

at give slip.

It was supposed to break, but that's okay. (Laughter) (Laughs)

Det var meningen, den skulle gå i stykker, men pyt med det. (Latter) (Griner)

That's part of the letting go, is sometimes it happens

Det hører med, når man giver slip. Nogle gange lykkedes det,

and sometimes it doesn't, because creativity also grows

andre gange gør det ikke, for kreativiteten opstår

from the broken places.

der hvor uheldene sker.

The best way to learn about anything

Den bedste måde at lære om noget

is through stories, and so I want to tell you a story

er gennem historier, så jeg vil fortælle jer en historie

about work and play and about four aspects of life

om arbejde og leg, og om fire af livets aspekter

that we need to embrace

som vi må tage til os,

in order for our own creativity to flourish.

for at kreativiteten kan blomstre.

The first embrace is something that we think,

Det første, vi må tage til os, er noget vi tænker

"Oh, this is very easy," but it's actually getting harder,

er meget nemt, men det bliver faktisk sværere og sværere,

and that's paying attention to the world around us.

og det er at være opmærksom på verden omkring os.

So many artists speak about needing to be open,

Rigtig mange kunstnere taler om behovet for at være åben,

to embrace experience, and that's hard to do when

at kunne tage oplevelser til sig, og det er svært at kunne, når

you have a lighted rectangle in your pocket that

du har et lysende rektangel i din lomme, der

takes all of your focus.

stjæler fokus fra alt andet.

The filmmaker Mira Nair speaks about growing up

Filmproducenten Mira Nair taler om at vokse op

in a small town in India. Its name is Bhubaneswar,

i en lille by i Indien. Byen navn er Bhubaneswar,

and here's a picture of one of the temples in her town.

og her er et billede af et af templerne i hendes by.

Mira Nair: In this little town, there were like 2,000 temples.

Mira Nair: I denne lille by var der omtrent 2000 templer.

We played cricket all the time. We kind of grew up

Vi spillede altid cricket. Vi voksede nærmest op

in the rubble. The major thing that inspired me,

i brokkerne. Den største inspirationskilde for mig,

that led me on this path, that made me a filmmaker eventually,

det der førte mig denne vej, det som i sidste ende gjorde mig til filmproducent,

was traveling folk theater that would come through the town

var de omrejsende folketeatre, der kom til vores by.

and I would go off and see these great battles

Jeg så disse storslåede slag

of good and evil by two people in a school field

mellem det gode og det onde, mellem to mennesker i en skolegård,

with no props but with a lot of, you know,

uden rekvisitter men med masser af, du ved,

passion, and hashish as well, and it was amazing.

passion - og hash også - og det var fantastisk.

You know, the folk tales of Mahabharata and Ramayana,

Det var folkesagnene om Mahabharata og Ramayana,

the two holy books, the epics that everything comes out of

de to hellige bøger, de store heltesagn som alt i Indien udspringer fra,

in India, they say. After seeing that Jatra, the folk theater,

siger de. Efter at have set det Jatra, folketeateret,

I knew I wanted to get on, you know, and perform.

vidste jeg, at jeg selv ville ud og, du ved, optræde.

Julie Burstein: Isn't that a wonderful story?

Julie Burstein: Er det ikke en skøn historie?

You can see the sort of break in the everyday.

Du kan se den slags pause i hverdagen.

There they are in the school fields, but it's good and evil,

Der er de i skolegården, men det er det gode og det onde,

and passion and hashish. And Mira Nair was a young girl

og passion og hash. Og Mira Nair var en ung pige,

with thousands of other people watching this performance,

der sammen med tusinder af andre så denne optræden,

but she was ready. She was ready to open up

men hun var klar. Hun var klar til at åbne op

to what it sparked in her, and it led her,

til hvad det satte i gang i hende. Og det ledte hende,

as she said, down this path to become

som hun sagde, den vej hun skulle for at blive

an award-winning filmmaker.

en prisvindende filmproducent.

So being open for that experience that might change you

Så at være åben for den oplevelse, der måske kan ændre dit liv,

is the first thing we need to embrace.

er den første ting, vi må tage til os.

Artists also speak about how some of their most powerful work

Kunstnere taler også om, hvordan nogle af deres stærkeste værker

comes out of the parts of life that are most difficult.

opstår ud af de hverdagsoplevelser, der er sværest.

The novelist Richard Ford speaks about

Forfatteren Richard Ford taler om

a childhood challenge that continues to be something

en barndomsudfordring, der fortsatte og blev til noget,

he wrestles with today. He's severely dyslexic.

han kæmper med i dag. Han er svært ordblind.

Richard Ford: I was slow to learn to read, went all the way

Richard Ford: Jeg var langsom til at lære at læse, gik hele vejen op

through school not really reading more than the minimum,

gennem skoletiden uden egentlig at læse mere end det absolut nødvendige,

and still to this day can't read silently

og den dag i dag kan jeg stadig ikke læse indenad

much faster than I can read aloud,

meget hurtigere, end jeg kan læse højt.

but there were a lot of benefits to being dyslexic for me

Men for mig var der mange fordele ved at være ordblind,

because when I finally did reconcile myself to how slow

for da jeg endelig accepterede, hvor langsomt jeg blev

I was going to have to do it, then I think I came very slowly

nødt til at gøre det, tror jeg, at jeg meget langsomt begyndte

into an appreciation of all of those qualities of language

at værdsætte alle de kvaliteter ved sproget

and of sentences that are not just the cognitive

og ved sætninger, der ikke blot er kognitive

aspects of language: the syncopations, the sounds of words,

aspekter ved sproget: synkoper, ordlyde,

what words look like, where paragraphs break,

hvordan ord ser ud, hvor tekstafsnit deles,

where lines break. I mean, I wasn't so badly dyslexic that

hvor der er linjeskift. Jeg mener, jeg var ikke så svært ordblind, at

I was disabled from reading. I just had to do it

jeg ikke kunne læse. Jeg blev bare nødt til at gøre det

really slowly, and as I did, lingering on those sentences

meget langsomt, og ved at gøre det, ved at dvæle ved de sætninger,

as I had to linger, I fell heir to language's other qualities,

jeg blev nødt til, opdagede jeg sprogets andre kvaliteter,

which I think has helped me write sentences.

og det tror jeg har hjulpet mig med at skrive sætninger.

JB: It's so powerful. Richard Ford, who's won the Pulitzer Prize,

JB: Det er så stærkt. Richard Ford, som har vundet Pulitzerprisen,

says that dyslexia helped him write sentences.

siger, at ordblindheden hjalp ham med at skrive sætninger.

He had to embrace this challenge, and I use that word

Han blev nødt til at tage denne udfordring til sig, og jeg bruger det ord

intentionally. He didn't have to overcome dyslexia.

helt bevidst. Han behøvede ikke at overvinde sin ordblindhed.

He had to learn from it. He had to learn to hear the music

Han skulle bare lære af den. Han måtte lære musikken

in language.

i sproget.

Artists also speak about how pushing up against

Kunstnere taler også om, hvordan det at skubbe til

the limits of what they can do, sometimes pushing

grænserne for, hvad de kan, nogle gange skubbes ind

into what they can't do, helps them focus

i det, de ikke kan og hjælper dem med at fokusere

on finding their own voice.

på at finde deres egen stemme.

The sculptor Richard Serra talks about how,

Billedhuggeren Richard Serra taler om, hvordan

as a young artist, he thought he was a painter,

han som ung kunstner troede, han var kunstmaler,

and he lived in Florence after graduate school.

og at han boede i Firenze efter universitetet.

While he was there, he traveled to Madrid,

Mens han boede der, tog han en tur til Madrid,

where he went to the Prado to see this picture

hvor han tog på Pradomuseet for at se dette maleri

by the Spanish painter Diego Velázquez.

af den spanske kunstmaler Diego Velázquez.

It's from 1656, and it's called "Las Meninas,"

Det er fra 1656, dets titel er "Las Meninas",

and it's the picture of a little princess

og det er et maleri af en lille prinsesse

and her ladies-in-waiting, and if you look over

og hendes hofdamer. Hvis du kigger over

that little blonde princess's shoulder, you'll see a mirror,

skulderen på den lille prinsesse, ser du et spejl,

and reflected in it are her parents, the King and Queen

hvori du kan se hendes forældre, kongen og dronningen

of Spain, who would be standing where you might stand

af Spanien, som står omtrent, hvor du står

to look at the picture.

for at se på maleriet.

As he often did, Velázquez put himself in this painting too.

Som han ofte gjorde, har Velázquez malet sig selv ind i billedet også.

He's standing on the left with his paintbrush in one hand

Han står til venstre med sin pensel i den ene hånd

and his palette in the other.

og sin palet i den anden.

Richard Serra: I was standing there looking at it,

Richard Serra: Da jeg stod og så på det,

and I realized that Velázquez was looking at me,

indså jeg, at Velázquez kiggede på mig,

and I thought, "Oh. I'm the subject of the painting."

og jeg tænkte, "Aha, jeg er motivet i maleriet".

And I thought, "I'm not going to be able to do that painting."

og jeg tænkte, "Jeg vil aldrig blive i stand til at male det billede".

I was to the point where I was using a stopwatch

Jeg var nået dertil, hvor jeg brugte et stopur

and painting squares out of randomness,

og malede kvadrater af ren tilfældighed,

and I wasn't getting anywhere. So I went back and dumped

og jeg kom ingen vegne. Så jeg tog tilbage og smed

all my paintings in the Arno, and I thought, I'm going to just start playing around.

alle mine malerier i Arnofloden, og jeg tænkte, at jeg bare måtte begynde at eksperimentere.

JB: Richard Serra says that so nonchalantly, you might

JB: Richard Serra siger det så henkastet, at du måske

have missed it. He went and saw this painting by a guy

gik glip af det. Han tog altså ind og så det her maleri af en mand,

who'd been dead for 300 years, and realized,

som har været død i 300 år, og indså,

"I can't do that," and so Richard Serra went back

"Det der kan jeg ikke", og så tog Richard Serra tilbage

to his studio in Florence, picked up all of his work

til sit atelier i Firenze, samlede alle sine værker

up to that point, and threw it in a river.

sammen og smed dem i floden.

Richard Serra let go of painting at that moment,

I det øjeblik gav Richard Serra slip på malerkunsten,

but he didn't let go of art. He moved to New York City,

men han gav ikke slip på kunsten selv. Han flyttede til New York

and he put together a list of verbs

og begyndte at samle en liste over verber

— to roll, to crease, to fold —

— at rulle, at krølle, at folde —

more than a hundred of them, and as he said,

over hundrede af dem, og som han sagde,

he just started playing around. He did these things

så begyndte han at eksperimentere. Han gjorde det

to all kinds of material. He would take a huge sheet of lead

med alle slags materialer. Han tog en kæmpe plade bly,

and roll it up and unroll it. He would do the same thing

rullede den sammen og rullede den ud igen. Han gjorde det samme

to rubber, and when he got to the direction "to lift,"

med gummi, og da han kom til "at løfte",

he created this, which is in the Museum of Modern Art.

skabte han denne her, som udstilles på Museum for Moderne Kunst.

Richard Serra had to let go of painting

Richard Serra måtte give slip på malerkunsten

in order to embark on this playful exploration

for at kunne påbegynde denne legesyge opdagelsesrejse,

that led him to the work that he's known for today:

der førte ham til de værker, han er kendt for i dag:

huge curves of steel that require our time and motion

enorme stålkurver der skal kræver tid og bevægelse

to experience. In sculpture,

for at kunne opleves. I skulpturen kan

Richard Serra is able to do what he couldn't do in painting.

Richard Serra gøre, hvad han ikke kunne i maleriet.

He makes us the subject of his art.

Han gør os til motivet i sin kunst.

So experience and challenge

Så erfaring og udfordring

and limitations are all things we need to embrace

og begrænsninger er alt sammen noget, vi må tage til os

for creativity to flourish.

for at kreativiteten kan blomstre.

There's a fourth embrace, and it's the hardest.

Der er en fjerde ting, vi må tage til os, og det er den sværeste.

It's the embrace of loss,

Vi må også tage sorgen til os,

the oldest and most constant of human experiences.

den ældste og mest konstante menneskelige oplevelse.

In order to create, we have to stand in that space

For at kunne skabe må vi kunne stå i rummet

between what we see in the world and what we hope for,

mellem det vi ser i verden, og det vi håber på,

looking squarely at rejection, at heartbreak,

vi må se afslag, hjertesorg,

at war, at death.

krig og døden lige i øjnene.

That's a tough space to stand in.

Det er et svært sted at stå.

The educator Parker Palmer calls it "the tragic gap,"

Underviseren Parker Palmer kalder det "det tragiske mellemrum"

tragic not because it's sad but because it's inevitable,

tragisk, ikke fordi det er trist, men fordi det er uundgåeligt.

and my friend Dick Nodel likes to say,

Og som min ven Dick Nodel ynder at sige det,

"You can hold that tension like a violin string

"Du kan holde fast i den spænding som en violinstreng

and make something beautiful."

og skabe noget smukt".

That tension resonates in the work of the photographer

Den spænding frembringes i fotografen

Joel Meyerowitz, who at the beginning of his career was

Joel Meyerowitz værker. Han var i starten af sin karriere

known for his street photography, for capturing a moment

kendt for sine gadefotografier, for at fange øjeblikket

on the street, and also for his beautiful photographs

på gaden, og for sine smukke fotografier

of landscapes -- of Tuscany, of Cape Cod,

af landskaber -- af Toscana, Cape Cod,

of light.

af lyset.

Joel is a New Yorker, and his studio for many years

Joel er newyorker, og hans atelier lå i mange år

was in Chelsea, with a straight view downtown

i Chelsea med udsigt ind til

to the World Trade Center, and he photographed

World Trade Center, og han fotograferede

those buildings in every sort of light.

disse bygninger i al slags lys.

You know where this story goes.

Du ved, hvor denne historie er på vej hen.

On 9/11, Joel wasn't in New York. He was out of town,

Den 11. september var Joel ikke i New York. Han var udenbys,

but he raced back to the city, and raced down to the site

men han skyndte sig tilbage til byen og ned til stedet

of the destruction.

for ødelæggelsen.

Joel Meyerowitz: And like all the other passersby,

Joel Meyerowitz: Og som alle de andre forbipasserende

I stood outside the chain link fence on Chambers

stod jeg uden for kædehegnet på hjørnet af Chambers

and Greenwich, and all I could see was the smoke

og Greenwich, og alt jeg kunne se var røgen

and a little bit of rubble, and I raised my camera

og lidt murbrokker, og da jeg hævede mit kamera

to take a peek, just to see if there was something to see,

for at tage et kig, bare for at se, om der var noget at se,

and some cop, a lady cop, hit me on my shoulder,

var der en betjent, en kvindelig betjent, som slog mig på skulderen

and said, "Hey, no pictures!"

og sagde, "Hey, ingen billeder!"

And it was such a blow that it woke me up,

Og det var sådan et slag, at jeg vågnede op

in the way that it was meant to be, I guess.

og det var vel nok det, der var meningen.

And when I asked her why no pictures, she said,

Og da jeg spurgte hende, hvorfor ingen billeder, sagde hun

"It's a crime scene. No photographs allowed."

"Det er et gerningssted. Der må ikke tages billeder."

And I asked her, "What would happen if I was a member

Og jeg spurgte hende, "Hvad hvis jeg var medlem

of the press?" And she told me,

af pressen?" Og så sagde hun

"Oh, look back there," and back a block was the press corps

"Ah, se derovre", og en blok tilbage stod pressekorpset

tied up in a little penned-in area,

presset sammen i et lille indhegnet område,

and I said, "Well, when do they go in?"

og jeg sagde "Nå, men hvornår kan de gå ind?"

and she said, "Probably never."

"Formentlig aldrig", sagde hun så.

And as I walked away from that, I had this crystallization,

Og da jeg gik væk derfra, stod alt krystalklart for mig,

probably from the blow, because it was an insult in a way.

sikkert fordi dette slag på skulderen på en måde var en fornærmelse.

I thought, "Oh, if there's no pictures,

Jeg tænkte, "Men hvis der ikke er nogle billeder,

then there'll be no record. We need a record."

så bliver det ikke dokumenteret. Vi må dokumentere det."

And I thought, "I'm gonna make that record.

Og jeg tænkte, "Jeg må sørge for, at det bliver dokumenteret.

I'll find a way to get in, because I don't want to

Jeg må find en vej ind, for jeg vil ikke have

see this history disappear."

historien forsvinder."

JB: He did. He pulled in every favor he could,

JB: Og det gjorde han. Han trak i alle de tråde, han kunne,

and got a pass into the World Trade Center site,

og fik et adgangspas til World Trade Center-området,

where he photographed for nine months almost every day.

hvor han fotograferede næsten hver dag i ni måneder.

Looking at these photographs today brings back

Når jeg ser på billederne, minder det mig om

the smell of smoke that lingered on my clothes

lugten af røg, der hang i mit tøj

when I went home to my family at night.

når jeg gik hjem til min familie om aftenen.

My office was just a few blocks away.

Mit kontor var kun et par blokke derfra.

But some of these photographs are beautiful,

Men nogle af billederne er så smukke,

and we wondered, was it difficult for Joel Meyerowitz

at vi spekulerer på, om det var svært for Joel Meyerowitz

to make such beauty out of such devastation?

at få så stor skønhed ud af så megen ødelæggelse?

JM: Well, you know, ugly, I mean, powerful

JM: Jo, det var grimt, jeg mener, voldsomt

and tragic and horrific and everything, but

og tragisk og frygteligt og alt muligt, men

it was also as, in nature, an enormous event

det var også som i naturen en enorm begivenhed

that was transformed after the fact into this residue,

der efterfølgende blev transformeret til bundfald,

and like many other ruins

og som mange andre ruiner

— you go to the ruins of the Colosseum or the ruins of a cathedral someplace —

— du går ind i ruinerne i Colosseum eller ruinerne af en katedral et sted —

and they take on a new meaning when you watch the weather.

og så får de en ny betydning, når du betragter vejret.

I mean, there were afternoons I was down there,

Jeg mener, der var nogle eftermiddage dernede,

and the light goes pink and there's a mist in the air

hvor lyset blev pink, og der var tåge i luften,

and you're standing in the rubble, and I found myself

og du står der midt i brokkerne, og så kunne jeg pludselig

recognizing both the inherent beauty of nature

se både naturens iboende skønhed

and the fact that nature, as time,

og at naturen faktisk, med tiden,

is erasing this wound.

heler såret.

Time is unstoppable, and it transforms the event.

Tiden er ustoppelig, og den forandrer begivenheden.

It gets further and further away from the day,

Den bringer os længere og længere væk fra den dag,

and light and seasons temper it in some way,

og lyset og årstiderne mildner den på en måde.

and it's not that I'm a romantic. I'm really a realist.

Og det er ikke fordi jeg er romantiker. Jeg er egentlig realist.

The reality is, there's the Woolworth Building

Og realiteten er, at der er Woolworth-bygningen

in a veil of smoke from the site, but it's now like a scrim

indhyllet i røg fra gerningsstedet, men nu er den som et lærred

across a theater, and it's turning pink,

i et teater, og nu bliver det pink,

you know, and down below there are hoses spraying,

du ved, og et sted dernede sprutter vandsprøjterne,

and the lights have come on for the evening, and the water

og aftenens lys er blevet tændt, og vandet

is turning acid green because the sodium lamps are on,

er blevet syregrønt, fordi natriumlamperne er blevet tændt,

and I'm thinking, "My God, who could dream this up?"

og jeg tænker "Du godeste, man kunne ikke engang drømme sig til det!"

But the fact is, I'm there, it looks like that,

Men faktum er, jeg er der, og sådan ser det ud,

you have to take a picture.

du bliver nødt til at tage et billede.

JB: You have to take a picture. That sense of urgency,

JB: Du bliver nødt til at tage et billede. Den følelse af nødvendighed,

of the need to get to work, is so powerful in Joel's story.

behovet for at dokumentere, er så stærk i Joels historie.

When I saw Joel Meyerowitz recently, I told him how much

Da jeg mødte Joel for nyligt, fortalte jeg ham, hvor meget

I admired his passionate obstinacy, his determination

jeg beundrer hans passionerede stædighed, hans beslutsomhed

to push through all the bureaucratic red tape to get to work,

om at bryde igennem al bureaukratiet for at kunne arbejde.

and he laughed, and he said, "I'm stubborn,

Han lo og sagde, "Jeg er stædig,

but I think what's more important

men jeg tror, at hvad der er vigtigere

is my passionate optimism."

er min passionerede optimisme."

The first time I told these stories, a man in the audience

Den første gang jeg fortalte disse historier, rakte en mand blandt publikum

raised his hand and said, "All these artists talk about

hånden op og sagde, "Alle disse kunstnere taler om

their work, not their art, which has got me thinking about

deres arbejde, ikke deres kunst, hvilket får mig til at tænke over

my work and where the creativity is there,

mit eget arbejde, og hvor kreativiteten er der,

and I'm not an artist." He's right. We all wrestle

og jeg er ikke kunstner." Han har ret. Vi kæmper alle

with experience and challenge, limits and loss.

med oplevelser og udfordringer, begrænsninger og tab.

Creativity is essential to all of us,

Kreativiteten er altafgørende for os alle,

whether we're scientists or teachers,

uanset om vi er videnskabsfolk eller lærere,

parents or entrepreneurs.

forældre eller entreprenører.

I want to leave you with another

Jeg vil afslutte med endnu et

image of a Japanese tea bowl. This one

billede af en japansk teskål. Denne her

is at the Freer Gallery in Washington, D.C.

er på Freer Gallery i Washington D.C.

It's more than a hundred years old and you can still see

Den er mere end hundrede år gammel, og man kan stadig se

the fingermarks where the potter pinched it.

fingeraftrykkene af den pottemager, der lavede den.

But as you can also see, this one did break

Men man kan også, at denne her gik i stykker

at some point in its hundred years.

på et tidspunkt i løbet af de hundrede år.

But the person who put it back together,

Men personen, der limede den sammen igen,

instead of hiding the cracks,

besluttede, i stedet for at skjule revnerne,

decided to emphasize them, using gold lacquer to repair it.

at fremhæve dem ved at reparere den med guldlak.

This bowl is more beautiful now, having been broken,

Skålen er smukkere nu, efter at være revnet,

than it was when it was first made,

end da den først blev lavet,

and we can look at those cracks, because

og vi kan se på alle disse revner, og de

they tell the story that we all live,

fortæller historien om, at vi alle lever

of the cycle of creation and destruction,

i et kredsløb af skabelse og ødelæggelse,

of control and letting go, of picking up the pieces

af at tage kontrol og at give slip, at samle skårene op

and making something new.

og lave noget nyt.

Thank you. (Applause)

Tak skal I have. (Bifald)