The Art of Paying Attention

This morning, while walking on a cloudy, cold road toward my flat, I was overthinking issues I must address. For a second, I decided to look around, to listen as much as I could, and to see as much as I can. I noticed how difficult it was—so many things happening: workers, birds, cars, dogs, people, highways, trees. Every second, each one of them existing simultaneously, attracting my attention. Then the cold wind got into my face and body, and I felt surprisingly good—present, calm, aware.

I remembered the value behind meditation and prayer, the ideal behind many cultures, which is to be 'awake.' I wonder, what if one could be like this always? What if, actually, one is like this on a regular basis, but we barely notice and immediately stop to go back to the past or the future? I assume it would be very demanding to stay present, as you cannot really pay attention to your surroundings always, but is that true? I don't know, I'm too ignorant to grasp this concept fully, but I have a rough sense of some philosophical, psychological, and theological ideas.

You might wonder, what does this have to do with art? In my opinion, the artist is a channel, a sponge that absorbs information through experiences—human experiences—and filters this information using tools in its pursuit of meaningful creations to share. I wonder, what kind of consequences would this awareness bring to the artist? I can speculate that some of it has been with me throughout my process. Otherwise, viewers would not be able to understand, at some level, what I create. But because my approach to art has become increasingly technical in order to share it, I'm afraid I might lose part of that. My attention to capturing reality has shifted toward my attention to design and teaching practical ways to capture reality. I don’t think this is wrong, but the first one—to pay attention—is already an important and difficult task in itself. That, I think, should be the fundamental motivation for the artist.

So! I'll do my best to keep sharing insights about my process, but forgive me if I lose myself in things I might not be able to describe effectively. I guess it's a work of two—you and I—to find out the value behind these processes. If there's any, which I hope there is.

Welcome to all new patrons! For some reason, I see many of you joining lately. I suppose I might be doing something right?

Thank you.