I feel compelled to write an intro, yet if the words need an intro isn’t that like a joke that needs an explanation? Thoughts over coffee 7/2/06
Distractions
An uneven start. What one wants to do and what one “has” to do. Does doing what you have to do lead to time to do what you want to do? Or just more of what has to be done? Do all the forms, files, paperwork, e-everything, i-podium, MP3, 4, 5, IM, updates, upgrades, lead to peace, nirvana? A clear view of a summers day ending with cool breezes caressing your soul, inspiration to create?
Or is it “Ground Hog Day?” Sleep and wake repeat telling yourself tomorrow you”ll be creative. Tomorrow the bureaucratic, political, hollow tasks, distractions along the yellow brick road to the magic kingdom will be swept away by that gentle breeze and you will arrive.
© Peter J. Crowley
Photographic Art
Or is it “Ground Hog Day?” Sleep and wake repeat telling yourself tomorrow you”ll be creative. Tomorrow the bureaucratic, political, hollow tasks, distractions along the yellow brick road to the magic kingdom will be swept away by that gentle breeze and you will arrive.
© Peter J. Crowley
Photographic Art
There is a magnificent image by Philip Hyde in the book “Slickrock” co-authored with Edward Abbey, whose poetic commentary on this image reads, “Hardscrabble Bottom, along the Green. A great good place. A man could whittle away his life down here and never lose a minute.” I have never been to this place, but during many years marooned in concrete urban jungles, I have spent DAYS just gazing upon this image. I have so many friends and relatives whose favourite refrain is, “I’ve no time.” But time does not COME to us; time in the 21st century has to be stolen. We each find the time to do those things which seem a priority to us at the moment, but may mean less than nothing in the course of our lives. It is better to abandon these so-called priorities and LIVE in the moment; for the moment does not come again. The image not made is gone forever. I have never seen the play of light on a landscape repeated or two sunsets that were exactly alike. Can creativity really be postponed? Or is it just being smothered?
Well put! I searched for a copy of the image you speak of found many of the Moab Utah area and “Slickrock” but am sure it is everywhere outside my door in Norwich or anyone elses door if you take that moment to look and see.
This months Orion magazine has a series of Edward Abbey letters. http://www.orionmagazine.org/pages/om/06-4om/Abbey.html
Orion Mag. is a great publication. Which I would subscribe to if I could find the time. enjoy pjc
Having too much stuff distracts me. I’ve observed that a cluttered living space nearly always reflects a cluttered mind. But for some, this may actually stimulate, not inhibit creativity. I love that I can hear much more music now, read more opinions, see more art, and have more contact with people (I’m shy, and hate to call people, but I’ll e-mail or IM them in a heartbeat). But for me, there’s a tipping point, and I usually know when I’ve hit it. Solution is, to clean out a closet, or a desk, or somehow bring order to something that’s causing the distraction. And often, there’s a task I’m avoiding that simply needs finishing to restore my ability to create. But I like simplicity. I’m in awe of people who create, yet manage to live a life free of drama, intrigue, chaos, and “stuff”.
Still, I try not to judge too severely those who thrive on the frenzied 21st century world of gadgets, fast food, and instant gratification. They, too, produce amazing art, music, literature, and other memorable contributions, fueled by their inner turmoil. There are highly creative people who would find a walk on the beach to be a huge distraction, and who can’t imagine shutting off their cell phones, let alone not owning one. Distractions are whatever causes discomfort.
Very interesting look at the gadget possession world.
“fueled by their inner turmoil. There are highly creative people who would find a walk on the beach to be a huge distraction, and who can’t imagine shutting off their cell phones, let alone not owning one.” To be undistracted is a distraction. Wow! ABC had a TV show about ten years ago called “Prey” The premise was that the human race had evoled to a new super human that was over taking us normal folk. The show ran one season. I guess it was a lot for most of us to think that evolution did not stop when it reached Western Civilization.
“I’m in awe of people who create, yet manage to live a life free of drama, intrigue, chaos, and
“stuff””. Who are these people? LOL I meet no one who lives without drama and a storage unit for their stuff? Great contribution. enjoy pjc
As I read your blog, Peter, and the responses, I had to pause for a moment in my own little chaotic corner of the world and introspect. I have come to the conclusion that even in my own distaste for gadgetry, our “fast-food, easy-applicator” society, and all that entails Western culture, I myself have been assimilated….almost. Is resistance futile? Sometimes it would seem so. In a world dictated by the need for speed, faster internet, farther reaching cell phone abilities, cars that rival the space shuttle with features and a host of other creature comforts not even seen in most living rooms in this country (not to mention the plight of our Third World brethren), I find myself thinking that it would really be a major inconvenience in my life to not have them. That scares me. I love my fast Internet connection, my fancy new SUV, my expensive PDA, my cell phone, and yet those things don’t bring contentment in and of themselves as so many would believe.
It baffles me that people bring every possible thing they can on “vacation” only to have their “vacation” interrupted when the cell phone rings, the laptop chimes with a new email, or the PDA alarm goes off with yet another “appointment” or superfluous item on the never-ending “to-do” list. Is that “vacationing?” I would say no. I guess the answer to my question as to whether or not I have been assimilated is a complex and mulitfaceted NO. When I am off doing things by myself and for myself, I’ll make it a point to leave as much technology behind as I can, short of my digital camera. Fortunately, they haven’t installed “built-in” cell phones in digital cameras……yet. When I visited Peter a month or so ago, we went out walking in various towns and driving out in the countryside and it was so refreshing to get away from the hustle and bustle of the electronic world and just let our minds wander in creative ways and then capture them with our cameras. No computers, no phones, no crowds of people with a cell phone glued to their ear…..it was like a breath of fresh air to spend time with a great friend, talk about life, love, and politics, and just enjoy the simple act of walking around without a strict agenda or a deadline. Did time come to us? Nope. We STOLE it, as sukumar said. We captured images that would otherwise be gone forever. We broke free from the grip of a scripted life and “let our hair down.”
The other part of my complex and multifaceted “NO” is that another part of me enjoys the life of ease offered by our current level of technology; remote controls, microwave ovens, map programs on my computer, my computer itself, digital technology for cameras, email, the Internet, etc., etc. So much of what I do revolves around my computer and so it’s difficult to imagine how “crippled” I would become without it.
All that being said, the blog is about distractions and creativity. I personally believe that what distracts us is a very subjective and personal question to answer. I hate TV, I hate pop culture prophets ringing in my ears and media messiahs playing on my fears, and I despise our double-talking politicians who cater to their special interests and bank accounts while the country goes to hell around them. THESE are distractions to me and so I make it a point to avoid them as much as is humanly possible. I am not a creative person to begin with and so to have distractions on top of the lack of ability makes it much harder to try and foster some creativity where very little is there to nurture. I like organization and I’m quite anal about everything having a place and everything in it’s place when not used and I find that clutter and disorganization distract me. Some thrive on it. I do not. Clutter means I have to clean and if I have to clean, it means saying “I have no time” (again, sukumar mentions that) to do what I want to do. And that, my friends, brings me full circle to what Peter said to begin with: What one wants to do and what one “has” to do. Does doing what you have to do lead to time to do what you want to do? Or just more of what has to be done? Do all the forms, files, paperwork, e-everything, i-podium, MP3, 4, 5, IM, updates, upgrades, lead to peace, nirvana? I end up doing what I “have” to do (clean, etc.) to try and make time to do what I “want” to do and then I end up finding out that there is just one more thing that I “have” to do to meet the prerequisite for doing what I “want”. Talk about pernicious blather….sheesh.
And now I must go back to doing another “have to do” for my business so that perhaps later today I can work on what I “want to do.” I’m not holding my breath…oh wait…my cell phone is ringing.
Good day!
Mike
Mike Larsen Studios
would love to share a cuppa with you peter…
Pauline,
Do you have a Skype set up? we could at least have a cuppa over the net?
peace pjc
In ages past, many people would keep a diary, not just an appointment book, but a diary of one’s daily thoughts and deeds, experiences and emotions. One more than one occasion I tried to do this, but didn’t keep it up for long as I could never find the patience to get so self-absorbed. So it is rare for me to find my written words from decades past. My memories more often take the form of photographs. But the internet preserves at least some part of the public written record (often the part that you least want preserved). In this instance, it was my musings and creativity, posted on this blog, which Peter recently reshared. Much has changed for me since then; my world has been upended. It would be fair to say that I inhabit an entirely different world today, and have a very different conception of time and self from 13 years ago. But I still wouldn’t change a word of what I wrote then.
However, I disagree with Leslie’s contention that “Distractions are whatever causes discomfort.” For many of us in today’s world, creativity is not our default setting. It is so often more convenient to stay within one’s comfort zone, doing all the silly things one feels one “has” to do, rather than what our heart tells us to do. We keep finding comfortable little distractions to avoid doing what we really want to do, but which would require taking a risk, daring to venture outside our comfort zone. Certainly in photography and art, staying perpetually within one’s comfort zone is reassuring, safe, but eventually stultifying. It is when we venture outside our comfort zone that our creativity has a chance to blossom.