I can't honestly account for the very personal response that I have to one story and not another, a sense of an orbit, the orbit of a world that draws me as my own life recedes.
Daniel Day-LewisRead
I don't torture myself. And I do the work because of the pleasure involved. I'm satisfying a compulsion I find nigh-on irresistible. It's not necessarily because of the work itself. I just feel the need for a period of regeneration afterwards. Like leaving a field fallow when you've grazed too much on it. I feel depleted.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote expresses the necessity of balancing work with rest and regeneration to maintain creativity and fulfillment.
Daniel Day-Lewis reflects on the relationship between labor and rejuvenation, highlighting the importance of not overexerting oneself in pursuit of work. He suggests that while the work may be enjoyable and driven by a deep-seated compulsion, it is essential to take time for regeneration, akin to allowing a field to lie fallow to restore its vitality. This insight underscores the value of balance and self-care in the creative process, emphasizing that continuous work can lead to depletion without proper breaks.
Themes
WorkRegenerationArtBalanceCreativity
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech at a creative arts conference.
More from Daniel Day-Lewis
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You don't merely give over your creativity to making a film - you give over your life! In theatre, by contrast, you live these two rather strange lives simultaneously; you have no option but to confront the mould on last night's washing-up.
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When I've gone back to work, it's always with that sense of inevitability. That may be a complete delusion, but it's the one that I need to get out of bed and go about my business. That sense that I can't avoid this thing. I better just get on with it.
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I suppose it's a very highly developed form of denial, but some part of me completely denies that I'm a performer.
Daniel Day-LewisRead
England is obsessed with where you came from, and they are determined to keep you in that place, be it in a drawing room or in the gutter.
Daniel Day-LewisRead
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