Leonard Cohen, in memoriam, singer-songwriter, poet, and novelist

"If I knew where the good songs came from, I’d go there more often." Leonard Cohen's warm wisdom on creativity:


"There are always meaningful songs for somebody. People are doing their courting, people are finding their wives, people are making babies, people are washing their dishes, people are getting through the day, with songs that we may find insignificant. But their significance is affirmed by others. There’s always someone affirming the significance of a song by taking a woman into his arms or by getting through the night. That’s what dignifies the song. Songs don’t dignify human activity. Human activity dignifies the song." (Cohen, considering the purpose of music in human life).


https://www.brainpickings.org/2014/07/15/leonard-cohen-paul-zollo-creativity/

"I always used to work hard. But I had no idea what hard work was until something changed in my mind… I don’t really know what it was. Maybe some sense that this whole enterprise is limited, that there was an end in sight… That you were really truly mortal."


What a beautiful testament to the creative spirit and its true motives, to creative contribution coming from a place of purpose rather than a hunger for profit.

REST IN PEACE