— Sri Aurobindo“To be original in an acquired taste is hardly feasible. The mind, conscious of a secret disability with which it ought not to have handicapped itself, instinctively takes refuge in imitation, or else in bathos and the work turned out is ordinarily very mediocre stuff.”
A craft is what you do, like cooking, teaching, driving, or something else. It becomes an art when you add love to it.
Because when you love something (or someone), you don’t look for a template on what to do. You do what feels right to you, and give expression to your instinct without fear. That’s what makes the food you cook, the subject you teach, and the way you drive unique. Your craft combined with love creates art.
The other beautiful thing about creating art—apart from the outcome—is that you discover qualities you didn’t know you had. Plus, you figure out your own way of doing things. Then, when you read about those ways in books or hear experts talking about them, you think, “Wow! I actually know how this feels!” Few things make us happier than this.
Don’t only do things that society wants you to do or things that others will approve of. Do things that make you happy, even if for 30 minutes each day. Slowly increase this time until your entire day is filled with things you love doing. That’s how you become an original masterpiece.