WASTE MORE TIME
written on july 6th, 2019: Published July 8th, 2019
Today as I write, I lie in a hammock. Its over stretched rope sways my heavy, lazy legs and warmly soaked skin, just inches above the grass.
Today I breathe.
I am on vacation this week in Massachusetts, spending time with my family. Most of this time has been used to lie on the beach, eat home-cooked food, and catch up with some important people in my life that I haven’t seen in a while. No one in my family is an artist. Which is not unusual. Indirectly there are my siblings and cousins who have been or still are, musically involved, or creative writers or budding actors...
I was editing one of my dance “film-ish” experiments of sorts on my laptop, when one of my relatives came up behind me and inquired exactly what I was doing.
“Well I had this idea and my friend Wilson was up for it, so we went out in the city the other week and filmed it.”
“But, why?”
(As in, what’s the purpose, the point, the reason?)
This took some time to explain…
I can see how my casual iPhone projects may seem insignificant to the outside eye.
After all, it’s not bringing me any direct prospects monetarily, nor is it helping me gain millions of followers and views.
It’s pure play.
As a newer professional maker/doer/mover… I feel this time in my life should be used for nothing but that. Although college really is an optimal time, with space and abundant resources, play often gets lost in all the curriculum.
Think about it:
Without play, there is no space for the “magical other” to come about by happy accident: the ideas that, out of excitement, keep us up at night.
There really are no boundaries in a creation process…so, why do we restrict ourselves to them? Why do we label things off as a waste of time or as insignificant?
We get scared to experiment outside of the only way we were taught to experiment. We block the increase of our vocabulary and our growth by meticulously tracking technique or shape or progression.
Instead, we move through the motions and vomit up recycled skeletons and call it art.
So, if you do anything today.
Make something absolutely useless in theory. Put something together that has no linear progression, no promise of success, and no end goal in sight. Create it because you want to: not because you have to or you think it will do well in the public eye or you need to meet a deadline in your head.
Worry about linking parts together later. When we become too logistical about our creative pursuits, we lose the spark. The spark is far more vibrant than the building blocks. Focus on building an empire of these little fires for yourself. See what works, what can be salvaged, and what needs editing. You can always cut back later or readjust.
Big advice:
“Waste” more time. Go play.
It may just be the most important thing you do all day.