Dear you,
I want to thank you for your time and presence! I love when people care to share and receive and engage in a conversation, even if the conversation isn´t happening in “real time” or happening in “real life” but in written form instead.
I do not know about you, but I love listening to podcasts or reading through blogposts as it gives me the space and time to process things and not respond right away. To let things sink in deeply and reflect thoroughly is a lost art. I feel like in our culture we have adopted a mindset of “rushing it”! Everything has to be done “on the go” or it isn´t of help, value or meaning.
And yet, in nature, in the history of humankind and by all means of logical thinking the opposite seems to be true. Good things take time and top notch quality or mastery takes a lot of time. The reason lies in the nature of “progress”. Progress happens fast as we start out with something. Comprehending an initial idea and building a foundation makes us feel accomplished quickly. It´s the refining things that´s a whole different story. Once we are further into a project, tracking our progress gets harder and harder because the steps we make get tinier. It´s like climibing a ladder. You start out with so much enthusiasm and sprint upwards, until you feel a little exhausted and suddenly the top of the ladder looks unattainable and you hardly notice how far you´ve come. You only focus on how much is still before you and you have to make tinier steps, because you´re exhausted. You push against gravity and you need to learn to be patient and take your time or else you will fall back.
Taking time in our culture isn´t sold as being sexy. We want fast results and we want them now. Especially if you have no neurotypical type of brain, things can feel even harder bc your brain needs to balance out the constant stimulation overload and the internal trains of thoughts that pick up everything. You might find it impossible to stop your mind from processing constantly and yet, calming our monkey minds is so essential not only for our mental health but also for making room for good things to unfold. Quality requires time and space. Quality to me is an expression of God.
I recently found this proverb from the “Corinthians” in the Bible:
“So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow!”
It´s the presence of love (presence in a spacial and timely sense) that´s like the building blocks of the universe, the building blocks of life itself and the building blocks of perfection in whatever imperfect, human form it might present itself in.
I guess what I am trying to say is that we need to re-train ourselves in going slow. In cherishing the journey and embracing the struggles as well. We struggle because we push God away. We struggle because our ego wants control and control lies not in the journey, but in the destination! The devil isn´t in the detail, but in the lack thereof!
In a way I feel like only taking the gifts we are given and tossing them as soon as they are no more fun but require actual work is like neglecting to say thank you. We should give back and giving back means investing our time and making an effort.
I am learning from the artmaking process to enjoy the process (with all its hurdles) more than the result! I am learning to explore, to trust and to be present as often as possible. I hope that any artwork I am sharing with you, whether it is music, art or a blogpost like this one transports some of the love I felt during the making of it. I hope that it fills your cup with something good, nurturing and meaningful! I hope that some of my sweat and tears might transform into bred and wine.
I am far from having things down, but I am trying my best every day to slow down and make room for something good to unfold and I hope this post inspires you to do the same!
We deserve to enjoy the time and the space we are given! Anything else is being ignorant and ungrateful!
All the best,
Katie