20 years of breadcrumbs

One of my favorite novels of all time is East of Eden by John Steinbeck, which chronicles the lives of two families in California’s Salinas Valley across multiple generations. He published it in 1952. 

Before that, he wrote a short little book called The Pastures of Heaven, also set in the Salinas Valley, also about the intertwined lives of different families. He published that one in 1932. 

The Pastures of Heaven has a similar setting, similar characters, and some similar storylines as East of Eden, which many consider Steinbeck’s greatest work. It just stands out to me that twenty years before it came out, you can see the breadcrumbs in Steinbeck’s work that evetually lead him to his greatest work. 

I wanted to share this with you because it inspires me to keep going. Maybe what I’m making today isn’t a masterpiece. But I’m still making it today. Maybe it won’t lead me to anything magnificent down the road. But maybe it will. And if it does, I’ll look back and be so grateful I was courageous enough to create and share something with the world. If it doesn’t, I’ll know I spent my time creating art I loved. 

What is the creative life, if not this?