It's almost like boredom feels like a sickness to those with daily lives made by news. One spends so much time away from home that being normal feels strange. It's always what's next and there's always something happening. You miss what's in front of you.
I find that sitting beside yourself precedes creation. Forming something is a movement, and people cannot handle the quiet hours required to experience the depths. It's like you have to be nothing to gain a certain sensitivity to life or you empty yourself for something to speak through you.
Near the end of the last piece, you said, "They are merely taking shelter so that the flame that they carry is not blown out by the raging winds of the present moment." It seems that going beyond boredom is necessary in recognizing that flame.
All in all, this was a great read and a great follow-up.
This was an extremely perceptive and well written commentary, Silhouvi. Greatly appreciate you going to the effort.
The thematic links you see between this and the previous newsletter are dead on.
And to your point re: emptying yourself, creativity is, in my experience, a continual attempt of ego suppression. The goal is to be a stenographer of the muse, as my mate Cody Clarke puts it.
Excellently written, I really enjoy your style of writing. It’s got a very nice natural flow to it.
Great insights as well, I’ve found allowing myself to be “bored” on a regular basis (driving in the car with no stimulation, staring blankly out the window) have made a remarkable difference to my ability to focus and create, as well as general peace of mind really.
It’s funny, I think Taleb said it before about how “Northerners need to have everything programmed for them, they can’t simply do nothing. It has to be yoga or meditation classes, or using an app to achieve what is in essence, just doing nothing”.
Paraphrasing of course, but you get the gist. Looking forward to next weeks post, all the best.
Thanks for the reply Conor, really excellent points made there.
My theory is that English people were once ‘Eat, drink and be merry’ Falstaff types, but this guilds and feast days folk culture was eradicated by the Industrial Revolution (hence why I harped on it so much in the above newsletter).
You seem this form of English culture in Shakespeare and Dickens, hence why everyone loves them.
This is interesting.
It's almost like boredom feels like a sickness to those with daily lives made by news. One spends so much time away from home that being normal feels strange. It's always what's next and there's always something happening. You miss what's in front of you.
I find that sitting beside yourself precedes creation. Forming something is a movement, and people cannot handle the quiet hours required to experience the depths. It's like you have to be nothing to gain a certain sensitivity to life or you empty yourself for something to speak through you.
Near the end of the last piece, you said, "They are merely taking shelter so that the flame that they carry is not blown out by the raging winds of the present moment." It seems that going beyond boredom is necessary in recognizing that flame.
All in all, this was a great read and a great follow-up.
This was an extremely perceptive and well written commentary, Silhouvi. Greatly appreciate you going to the effort.
The thematic links you see between this and the previous newsletter are dead on.
And to your point re: emptying yourself, creativity is, in my experience, a continual attempt of ego suppression. The goal is to be a stenographer of the muse, as my mate Cody Clarke puts it.
See you next Sunday.
Tom.
Out of accepting, and because, every day is ordinary, there is no ordinary day.
Good read, thank you.
That’s exactly it, Ayla. I will almost certainly write a newsletter on the importance of ordinariness soon.
Thanks for the comment.
See you on Sunday.
Tom.
Excellently written, I really enjoy your style of writing. It’s got a very nice natural flow to it.
Great insights as well, I’ve found allowing myself to be “bored” on a regular basis (driving in the car with no stimulation, staring blankly out the window) have made a remarkable difference to my ability to focus and create, as well as general peace of mind really.
It’s funny, I think Taleb said it before about how “Northerners need to have everything programmed for them, they can’t simply do nothing. It has to be yoga or meditation classes, or using an app to achieve what is in essence, just doing nothing”.
Paraphrasing of course, but you get the gist. Looking forward to next weeks post, all the best.
Thanks for the reply Conor, really excellent points made there.
My theory is that English people were once ‘Eat, drink and be merry’ Falstaff types, but this guilds and feast days folk culture was eradicated by the Industrial Revolution (hence why I harped on it so much in the above newsletter).
You seem this form of English culture in Shakespeare and Dickens, hence why everyone loves them.
But maybe we’ll tackle that in a later issue.
Thanks again.
See you on Sunday.
Tom.
‘it isn’t easy being me’ --- Self-importance,
I believe once you fully accept boredom,
it not only eradicates self-centredness
but it eradicates itself.
Great insight mate! Keep it up.
Thanks very much. Replies are hugely appreciated, especially as I’m new to this.
The best way to gauge the audiences response is to have them simply say how they feel after reading. So I thank you for doing that.
See you next Sunday,
Tom.