Attention and the Creative Impulse

Hola mi Gente,

Have I ever mentioned I’m a cinema junkie? Yup, it’s been me and Maria Menounos since I left my last gig. In case you don’t know, Maria is the host of FirstLook, a show that’s highlighted before the main feature goes up. I like her. It’s been me and Maria these past few hard months. Anyway! I get to see most of films for free thanks to a connection. Don’t ask, because I’m not telling. LOL

Today is Saturday and it’s usually about art and creativity around here. I came across something recently that inspired the following… 

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Georgia Okeefe -- Orange Poppy in Morning Sun

Awakening into the Moment

I was enjoying a moment with a Georgia O’Keefe painting not too long ago and I was struck by the attention and care she gave to even the tiniest of details of her subject matter. To gaze upon an O’Keefe is to come face to face with an incredible amount of focus and a soulful incarnation that leads you to a whole new way of looking at flowers. I think that what makes O’Keefe an enduring artist is that she forces a paradigm shift in the way you look at things. You will never look at a flower the same way after looking at an O’Keefe. In a magazine article, I came across the following quote:

In a way -- nobody sees a flower -- really -- it is so small -- we haven’t time -- and to see takes time, like to have a friend takes time. If I could paint a flower exactly as I see it, no one would see what I see because I would paint it small like the flower is small. So I said to myself -- I’ll paint what I see -- what the flower is to me but I’ll paint it big and  they will be surprised into taking time to look at it -- I will make even busy New Yorkers take time to see what I see of flowers.

This reminds of the reality that as human beings often caught up in the dust of life, we so much as look at things as overlook them. This impulse to be in the moment and create meaning in the often overlooked details of life -- to see as O’Keefe puts it, “to paint what I see” -- is the creative incubator of art. You see, whether you’re an artist or not, the creative flow begins when you awaken the moments of your life as they are passing. It begins by paying attention in a nonjudgmental mind state also called “mindfulness.”

My name is Eddie and I’m in recovery from civilization…