096: Why it matters.
1 Poem - 1 Album - 1 Quote
1.
The Big Word — a poem by Alan Girling
From the Community
youth
I loll beneath the willow
sun-bleached _moby dick_
penguin spine snapped
straddles the root
jutting
along the river bank
a dozer pushes gravel
there've been reports
of early mountain thaw
flooding
not concerned though . . . I
am _insouciant_ . . . I
know the big word
that will take me places . . . I
and no one else
_serendipitous_ too
se-ren-dip-i-tous
se-ren-dip-i-ty
se-ren se-rene
a serene dip
dipity do
dew rise
do dive
alive and
living
and when the waters rise
burst the dike
lift this bronco boy
wonder word surfer
dude riding high
on a willow . . . I
will say only _ahh
look look at me
carefree deluge vagabond
anti-ahab of the waves
borne who bodes where
sans all my sorrow all grief
into the waiting arms
of new and gathering gods
This poem transported me to the long summer days of my teenage years. My ambition was to spend my days sitting under trees, reading all the books I was supposed to have read and writing poetry as if I knew something about life.
It's easy (and maybe even right) to laugh at the romanticised ideals and self-identification of my teenage years, but today I can't help but feel gratitude for her. Pretentious as she was lost... she found a golden thread and led me to follow it. If I could go back in time, I would sit down in front of her underneath the willow tree tell and her two things:
"No, being an educated hobo wasn't the glorious thing you thought it would be... and we didn't stick anything to any man."
"Keep making art and writing poetry. It's literally the only thing that's ever made sense to us."
There’s more to this poem than nostalgia, though. I'm not sure exactly what it is... Is it style? Is it cleverness with words?
Perhaps it's connection? Perhaps something about the moment in time captured and expressed through these words connected with a part of me that, right at that moment, was asking to be remembered and re-embodied.
I suppose, that's why poetry matters.
2.
An Ever Changing View — an album by Matthew Halsall
From the Internet
Earlier this week, in the uncharacteristically hot summer in the UK... I found myself listening to this song, sitting in the shade of my neighbour's apple tree in the garden. It was so hot, so still and hardly a breeze - the music in my ears was the only movement detectable.
Somehow, with the music being the only thing in motion, I found stillness. A certain kind of peace like I was slipping into the beat and rhythm of nature that… without the music I would not have been able to perceive.
Later on that evening, I went back outside as the sun was setting. I listened to the rest of the album as I watched the crows fly overhead (👇🏽). I'm not sure where they went in the morning (I guess they commuted while I was sleeping), but every night they would be flying overhead going in the same direction.
Anyway... I was contemplating (as you do) the album's title: "an ever-changing view."
How much can we fathom the changes that happen all day, every day in front of us?
How much can we understand that wherever you are in the world, you and I are under the same sky? Which is the same sky that your great-grandmother looked at? Yet... it isn't a sky that exists anymore, anyway?
How much can we know our 'self' when none of the cells that comprised our bodies 7 years ago, comprise our bodies today?
I suppose, this is what Eckhart Tolle talks about when he talks about 'now'. Such as it is in music - the beat is now, and you can't miss it.
I suppose, this is why music matters.
3.
On Style — a quote from E.B. White
From the Library
‘Who can confidently say what ignites a certain combination of words, causing them to explode in the mind? Who knows why certain notes in music are capable of stirring the listener deeply, though the same notes slightly rearranged are impotent? There is no satisfactory explanation of style - no inflexible rule by which the young writer may shape his course. He will often find himself steering by stars that are disturbingly in motion.’
— E.B. White
If we are being steered by stars that are disturbingly in motion…
If we are called upon by the universe itself…
If we are moved to action by spirit…
Then, I suppose... that's why art matters.
☀️ 21-Day 1:1 Summer Sprints - Coaching Offer ☀️
My year officially completes in August and begins again in September. I like to use this time to reflect on my creative practice and dedicate a deeper level of intention and attention to it.
As I do so, I wanted to offer something for you to join me in this spirit. So I created the 21-Day 1:1 Coaching Summer Sprints.
What’s that ONE project that you’ve always wanted to take on, but have never got around to? Maybe…
❤️🔥 You’ve wanted to put together an art show to exhibit the paintings you've created over the years.
❤️🔥 You have endless boxes of negatives in the loft, and you wish to curate them into a photography book.
❤️🔥 You want to take the songs on you know about into the studio and finally make that album.
If the answer came to you quickly… then consider applying. This is an intensive 3-week 1:1 programme designed to give you the structure, energy and intentionality to make your project happen.
Here's the deal:
You’ll fill out a quick application and book a 20-minute call here. Together, we'll work out if this is right for you, right now.
We’ll have our first (of 6) 1:1 session to clarify your ‘why’ as a creative and breathe fire into your project. We will also create a practical, actionable game plan to accomplish your goals in the next 21 days.
In sessions 2-6, we’re going to check in and make sure you stay aligned not only with your game plan but with the artistic spirit of the project. We will adjust things as needed, and keep you accountable.
In between sessions, I will also be available to you via message and voice note on Telegram every day, so I can support you every step of the way as you take big and small actions.
There are currently 3 SPOTS available, and I will close this offer on 16th August.
I had to find this to travel back to a poem. Sometimes discovering means tracing a path back
Thank you so much for featuring my poem Raphy. You wrote a wonderful response. I'm so glad and grateful that something I create can reach people in such a way. Indeed, this is why it matters.