The word "genius" in its Latin originality means simply, "the spirit of a place." The genius of an individual lies in the inhabitation of their peculiar and particular spirit in conversation with the world. Genius is something that is itself and no other thing. The task is simple and takes a life pilgrimage to attain - to inhabit our life fully, just as we find it, and in that inhabitation, let everything ripen to the next stage of the conversation. We do this because that is how we make meaning and how we make everything real.
David Whyte, from "Crossing the Unknown Sea: Work As a Pilgrimage of Identity"