an essay on how to approach things

this morning, i had the pleasure of talking with my friend about the right way to approach things. i was having coffee this afternoon, thinking about what i've done, what i want to do, and what has made me satisfied or disappointed with my work. i started daydreaming and wrote a little essay about what kind of attitude i would like to have when i get started on whatever it is i do next.

...

what separates the artist from the dilettante, the master from the apprentice, is the precision, the subtlety, and the range of expression the artist has at their command. a roar in one instant and a whisper in the next. the expanse of the valley and the shadow of a smile.

to be able to express the subtle, one must first see, hear, and feel the subtle. empty, receptive, letting the senses tell what is missing. only then can the execution be full.

following subtlety is control. without this, the unmitigated outpouring of creative expression succumbs to a chaos, a cacophony, unbalanced and worthy of pity. pity at what might have been beautiful.

the tao te ching says:

people often approach success in their affairs
only to fail at the end.
care at the end as at the beginning
averts failure.

in everything i do, i will strive to be this careful, this mindful. to not do so is to guarantee a failed effort and a waste of energy, for how can we learn from failure when we have not used all our faculties first? we can only learn when we have applied everything we already know. we can only succeed when we have learned everything we can from failure.

...

i was working on my new track this morning and have almost finished it. this afternoon i was thinking back on all the other tracks i've done. i've had this hobby for almost ten years now. a lot of work i've done has had good points but i've never been fully satisfied with the final product. the track i'm working on now is the best i've done so far. i don't want to ruin it by rushing to the finish line.

i'm finally headed out tomorrow. i'm going to keep some daily notes and post them when i get setup again.

until next time...