The first step, taken repeatedly
Meditations on 'beginners mind', art, slowness, and first steps
Our adventure into the land of rewilding our imaginations continues with a step back to remember that the only thing that is required of us is to take the first step. Repeatedly.
This is something I’m learning in various parts of my life, both professionally and in my own creative practice. I’m taking a writing workshop on Saturday mornings with the Irish writer Ferdia Mac Anna.
Last week, someone said that they thought that their publishing their first novel would feel more fulfilling. But then they realised that they had to start a new one, which is like beginning all over again at zero.
It made me think as well of the zen concept of beginner’s mind1, which is a dropping our expectations and preconceived ideas about something, and seeing things with an open mind, fresh eyes, just like a beginner. A beginner's mind is one in which you are open and receptive to new ideas, possibilities, and ways of thinking.
I’m repurposing a big goal oriented notebook that I used in 2021, treating over what was written in it with gesso or collage, and putting it back to work as an art journal. It was too expensive a purchase (it’s by Archer & Olive 💰) and the paper is too nice (🧁) to leave mouldering in a bookshelf forever.
Because I know now that setting goals is futile. It’s like trying to herd cats.
I’m more interested in “growth setting” than “goal setting” so I’m rewriting the history of this notebook, with its endless lists and tasks and tickboxes that left me feeling like a failure.
So yeah, this is a complex season for me in general.
Meditations on art, slowness, and first steps
Some quotes and points of contemplation that you might like to read slowly during the day:
“It’s a sneaky lie that’s sold to us in a society that values output and productivity and more, more, more. This is ironic in the Alanis Morissette way because art is actually a time machine. It has the ability to slow time down. As practical magic, it teaches us to look closer, pay attention, and notice details. This mindfulness becomes inherent when you have an active art practice.” - Caylee Grey, Get Messy: Season of Slow
"The only thing for certain is that everything changes. The rate of change increases. If you want to hang on you better speed up. That is the message of today. It could however be useful to remind everyone that our basic needs never change. The need to be seen and appreciated! It is the need to belong. The need for nearness and care, and for a little love! This is given only through slowness in human relations. In order to master changes, we have to recover slowness, reflection and togetherness. There we will find real renewal.” - Professor Guttorm Fløistad, Slow Thought: a manifesto
"I am struck by the fact that the more slowly trees grow at first, the sounder they are at the core, and I think that the same is true of human beings. We do not wish to see children precocious, making great strides in their early years like sprouts, producing a soft and perishable timber, but better if they expand slowly at first, as if contending with difficulties, and so are solidified and perfected. Such trees continue to expand with nearly equal rapidity to extreme old age." - Henry David Thoreau
Thanks for reading!
Buy me a digital coffee if you feel so inclined, or buy some zines.
ádh agus grá, & tot de volgende,
Jessica
If you're looking for reading material on Zen Buddhism, Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind: Informal Talks on Zen Meditation and Practice by Shunryu Suzuki is great. Mark Williams' book Mindfulness: Finding Peace in a Frantic World is also good - a breath of fresh air. It's a really fun and easy to read book that manages to condense hundreds of pages of information into a very digestible format. This book is especially good for those who aren't familiar with this particular branch of Buddhism, but it can be valuable for anyone seeking new perspectives on mental health, self-improvement, and life coaching.