Focus and depth

As so often happens, I sat down to do some work but just quickly clicked on a link from Bloesem that took me to the beautiful world of Amba Molly. And like that, I was lost. Drawn in by the images, the sculpture, the water, the sounds, and the whole of the exquisite world that was laid out on that table before me.

Ten minutes later, I am here writing about it. 

tick-tock,
tick-tock.

Whenever I am looking at something or spending my time doing something or even deciding if I should do something, I think about what the takeaway is. Because even "just being" has a takeaway you know, it's peace. You feel peaceful, you're centered and present. So, when I run down a rabbit hole online, which I do far too often, I like to take a nugget away with me that I will incorporate into my work or my life. It makes me feel productive and that's what looking at inspiring things are for right, inspiration- to transfer and then translate into something else. 

I recently did an interview over at Blue Locket. One of the questions Nadya asked was, what scares you? I answered that time scares me. Specifically, the shortness of life and the length of things I want to experience. Then I talked about the depth of living. That less measurable dimension that really brings meaning to life. 

she lived deeply, she inhabited her days.

This whole examination here, which is what I aim for in my process of writing, is bringing me to the question of focus. Time is limited, it is out of our control, but focus - where we choose to spend our time, that is completely up to us. In order to live deeply, which is what I am here to do, I must ask, what is the optimum focus that I should have in order to really live my days? 

Looking again at her work, and thinking about what it took to create it, the focus she must have had. She had an idea, she explored it, and then one by one, created each piece. This is depth. She went into the idea, into the work. You can see it and feel it. I think that is what I am aiming for. Whether it's in parenting, within my home, in relationships, in my work, when writing in this space, when thinking, and being, I want depth. I want to scratch beneath the surface, to be thoughtful. I want to think and express and have a conversation about it. I'm realizing that's where my focus needs to lie, on the depth. Not necessarily on just one thing, like painting, because that's unrealistic. But if I focus on going into the ideas that I am exploring in the moment, being present with my kids in the way they want me to be, using my relationships as a mirror to truly see myself, facing the moments of inadequacy in my art, then this is deep living.

Whew, and this is my takeaway from looking at Amba Molly. It's raining here, which is so conducive to thought, don't you think? Do you look for takeaways in places where you spend your time? I'd love to know. 

Have a great week!