Week 2: Attention & Capacity for Delight
Chapter 2: Recovering a Sense of Identity — The Artist’s Way
Chapter 2 of The Artist’s Way is titled: ‘Recovering a Sense of Identity’, with the first section titled Going Sane! In a world preoccupied with profit and productivity, creativity and art can feel like a frivolous luxury; maybe even a waste of time. Maybe a little insane?
I love what Ethan Hawke has to say about this:
“Do you think human creativity matters? Well, most people don’t spend a lot of time thinking about poetry, right? They have a life to live and they’re really not that concerned with Allen Ginsberg’s poems or anyone’s poems—until their father dies; they go to a funeral; you lose a child; someone breaks your heart. And all of a sudden, you’re desperate for making sense out of this life. ‘Has anybody felt this bad before? How did they come out of this cloud?’
Or the inverse—something great. You meet somebody and your heart explodes—you love them so much you can’t even see straight. You’re dizzy. ‘Did anybody feel like this before? What is happening to me?’ And that’s when art’s not a luxury—it’s actually sustenance. We need it. Human creativity is nature manifest in us.”
If you’re a spiritual seeker, you’ve likely taken inspiration in creativity in some form.
Maybe the poetry of Rumi and Hafiz, ancient scripture, the transcendent brush strokes in a painting, impossible softness of folds of skin sculpted in marble, or maybe from a bunch of foraged apples nestled into a floral sarong.
Which brings me to the section of the chapter that I connected with most:
Attention
“One of the great misconceptions about the artistic life is that it entails great swathes of aimlessness. The truth is that a creative life involves great swathes of attention. Attention is a way to connect and survive,” she writes.
Paying attention is not only central to living a creative life, it is essential to living a fulfilling life.
Henry Miller wrote,
“Develop interest in life as you see it; in people, things, literature, music—the world is so rich, simply throbbing with rich treasures, beautiful souls and interesting people. Forget yourself.”
Or another way to look at it, is let yourself dissolve into it all, let it dissolve into you.
Julia adds,
“The truth of life really has little to do with its quality. The quality of life is in proportion, always, to the capacity for delight. The capacity for delight is the gift of paying attention.”
Capacity for Delight
My partner and I spent a couple of weeks camping and hiking our way around The Blue Mountains. A break from work, family commitments and the usual routine of life to meander through each day with no firm plans. Just a desire to explore and enjoy.
My diary is full of little moments of delight:
Mullumbimbi
“After making camp and enjoying a simple dinner in the pink light of a subtropical sunset, we drifted to sleep to the surprisingly soothing sound of drunken rugby players singing along to classic rock hits in their club rooms. Slept like a log!”
Megalong Valley
“Refreshing morning swim creek swim. Marmalade toast and coffee for breakfast. Foraged apples from an abandoned tree, stewed them with cinnamon and sultanas.”
Mount Wilson
“Made chickpea and veggie soup for dinner, then had a bucket wash under the eucalypts and tree ferns. Soaked my filthy feet in the remaining lukewarm water while letting a few blocks of mint chocolate dissolve on my tongue.
A rainforest bird we don’t know the name of has been back and forth to her nest of noisy babies in the top of a tall tree fern all day. I wonder what type of bird she is. Am I turning into a birder?!”
Willow Tree
“Stopped for the night in a blink and you’d miss it place called Willow Tree. Hot and dry, the smell of dust and yellow grass. Hot showers! Huge grain silos beside the train tracks.
Connondale
“It rained a bit. We watched a Willy Wagtail using the car aerial as a wash pole. Now we’re tucked up in the rooftop tent listening to an orchestra of frogs and insects.”
We did some amazing walks, and saw some stunning sights, but it was these simple little sensuous moments that made it. Imagine how many of these little nothing moments pass by each day without our notice?
The chapter ends with a quote from poet William Meredith who said that the worst that can be said of a man is that “he did not pay attention.”
Twenty Things
One of the exercises at the end of the chapter is to write 20 things you enjoy doing, then choose a few from the list to focus on. Here are a few things I spent time on this week:
Playing guitar: I’ve been practicing some new fingerstyle exercises that are really stretching my brain! Aside from a lot of time getting fancy with my right hand while my left simply holds a C chord, I’ve been trying out some new sequences with Cat Power’s beautiful version of Sea of Love. I’ve also been enjoying playing some Ratcat classics on electric.
Movies: I love going to the movies. When I lived in Melbourne a good few years ago, I had an eccentric yoga teacher who lived in the back of his yoga studio, read books in his broken down car once the winter sun had warmed it, and rode his bike to a cinema every Monday when they offered 1/2 price tickets. At this time I was busy raising babies, renovating a house and generally feeling overwhelmed by life. I thought his life was so irresponsible. ‘He should get serious’ I thought. When I look back now, I see how very wise he was! Not that I’d wish my kids away, but there is certainly something to be said for the simple life.
Painting: Scribbling is probably more accurate for my quick little ink and wash works. Here’s one I did from that lovely coffee and apples moment.
Oops, spelt marmalade wrong!
This week’s instalment is a bit disjointed isn’t it? I’ve read over it a few times and tried to make it flow better, but I guess life is a bit disjointed sometimes isn’t it.
What inspired you this week?
Leonie x
P.S. Yes I did look up that bird (a satin bowerbird), and yes it’s likely I could be turning into a birder!
