Time

Weekly wisdom to level up your creative life in 3 minutes, for free.

A SHORT STORY

Last week, I had the privilege of attending a discussion with Laurie Anderson and the writer Tom McCarthy centered around the notion of time.

It was a remarkable conversation; Laurie and Tom transported the audience to a different plane. Many of the ideas they discussed have continued to resonate in my mind days afterward.

During one particularly memorable moment, a member of the audience posed a thought-provoking question to Laurie: “If you’re listening to me in the past, and planning in the future how you’re going to respond, how do we experience the present moment?”

Laurie paused, then responded, “You know, whenever I receive questions like this, I usually do this.” She then paused for about 30 seconds, gazing out into the audience. The entire room seemed to shift; we began to listen differently.

She then remarked, “Sometimes, all these words get in the way of us experiencing the present moment.”

I haven’t stopped contemplating that idea – how the little things often blind us to what matters. So, let this serve as a reminder to you, and to myself, to take a breath as you read this. Focus on what surrounds you – the sounds, the room, the people – and listen.

Perhaps it will alter the way you perceive time, if only for a moment.

What are the small details that are getting in your way today? How can you shift your perspective?

A CREATIVE TOOL

We recently did a redesign of our artist profiles on HUG, and it felt so wonderful to put all of my artistic work in one place.

Art is such an ephemeral act. For instance, the images you see below are ten years combined of inquiry and exploration. They live somewhere in memory.

So, every once in awhile, it feels good to archive and remind one’s self of the lessons learned, the stories told.

A PIECE OF ART

“The Fourth Sign of the Zodiac: Part Three” by Mary Oliver

originally published in Blue Horses

I know, you never intended to be in this world.
But you’re in it all the same.

So why not get started immediately.

I mean, belonging to it.
There is so much to admire, to weep over.

And to write music or poems about.

Bless the feet that take you to and fro.
Bless the eyes and the listening ears.
Bless the tongue, the marvel of taste.
Bless touching.

You could live a hundred years, it’s happened.
Or not.
I am speaking from the fortunate platform
of many years,
none of which, I think, I ever wasted.
Do you need a prod?
Do you need a little darkness to get you going?
Let me be as urgent as a knife, then,
and remind you of Keats,
so single of purpose and thinking, for a while,
he had a lifetime.

Grateful,

Michael