These posts are important to me, and I’ve fallen behind with them. I apologize for that. This is what’s been going on:
Work on a new book, Meditations on Gratitude, Beauty and Mystery, is now complete. This is my third book this year. I plan to do to one every three years, and instead concentrate on the publication of this Substack, and A Pause for Beauty. And to take more downtime, which is crucial to creative work.
The launch of a Kickstarter to fund the book. In hindsight Kickstarter is not the right audience for my work. Pre-orders, however, from readers have been encouraging. You can receive both Substacks, and pre-order the book, by becoming a Founding member here.
Creating YouTube videos to accompany these posts. Subscribers have indicated, a number of times, that they’d like to see videos of me painting. I’m still learning the video-editing software. The results are improving. Soon, hopefully within a week.
The conversion to a paid Substack, still not launched. Maybe in a few days or so. I want to create a good video or two first.
All this has led to journaling on the question:
What is the rhythm of your life? Is it the result of careful thought?
Here are some thoughts extracted from my journal notes:
A slow and thoughtful rhythm requires a continual thinking through of what to cut out. Lots of things would be worth doing if time was infinite.
What is essential is usually related to what makes you and your work unique. If others have already done it, its not essential. If it you copying the work of others, or their style, it is not essential. If it is you trying to show others that you’ve mastered a skill — for instance the skill of painting realistically, or even the skill of loose, relaxed watercolor — it’s not essential. It’s essential if it comes from your heart and soul.
Creative work especially requires downtime, meditation, an openness to messages from the unknown, thought before action.
The rhythm of our lives and work requires constant thought and review.
. . .
The plan, close to implementation, is to publish notes such as those above in an art journal format, accompanied by a video of me painting, and a soundtrack so that the post can be listened to rather than read for those who want to access the content that way. Free subscribers would get a summary once a week of the key ideas. For instance, for this post, that summary might be:
The rhythm of our lives and work requires constant thought and review. Lots of things would be worth doing if time was infinite. Cut out the nonessential — focus on what only you can do, on what makes you unique.
That would be accompanied by a link to the YouTube video that would include me discussing these thoughts while painting.
. . .
In the interests of brevity, I’m increasingly leaning toward not publishing the kinds of further thoughts explored at the link below — the thoughts behind the thoughts so to speak. But, because it’s been a while, I thought I might offer the essay out of which the thoughts above emerged on my website here.
www.herondance.org/thoughtful-rhythm
If we cannot wait,
we cannot know the
right time to move.If we cannot be still,
our actions will have
gathered no power.
- Friends of Silence