There is so much to gleam from art, and many are superficial about it. As people grow to obtain more creature comforts in the world, we attend to occupy our time with the arts, mostly entertainment arts. I have recently rekindled my enjoyment of casual painting. Not with a prescript idea, but a mutual bonding with the canvas to see where the materials take you.
To allow the spirit of art to take hold and move me in a way that generates something on the page. I found this to be enjoyable, as I have a thing for not wanting to know the path. So much in my life is something I wish to control, or at least know the path. What’s for dinner, what are our weekend plans, when is payday, keep bills in check and when they are due, daily life events are all something I want to have laid out and planned.
However there is a beauty to breaking away from this and not having any path other than, “DO”. Do what? Do? What is Do? Anyone with a basic degree of English understanding, knows that Do is a verb. It requires adverbs and nouns to defined its existence. To Do, is To Be in the present moment in action.
DO does not consider the next thing only the current thing, what is next is outside of it, the plan flows into do it cares not what it is. This thought exercise of “Just Do it”, is humbling and reveals that life doesn’t have to be over complicated or planned out. As someone with ADHD, but a severe need to KNOW. It is not always easy to Do without the what.
The what comes from an action in a weird quantum entanglement type engagement. The state of Do requires the state of What, the live in equilibrium, but it does not mean they have to be defined by itself, it is recursive of its own nature and only Does. When we start to Do without the intent of what, surprising things start to happen. We are gradually exposed the limitless potential of Do, after all you can never do “no thing” as it is a constant state of action.
When you set off to pick up the paint brush you do that, then before you decide what paint, what stroke, what thought to do. Quietly just breath, and stroke the canvas. Randomness is arguably not a thing but for this illustration the randomness of a stroke of paint will cascade into the creation a piece of art. A conception from the empties of chaos into an order. It feels fun, it feels good and when I breath and allow my thoughts to leave and the spirit of the art to guide me, I find i usually paint better.
