Rubin Intervenes

Instagram fed me one of Rick Rubin’s video content bites. I’m assuming it’s a passage from his creativity book. I like Rick Rubin.

The clip is a closeup shot of water rushing over dark river rocks. The water looks cold and delicious. Rick’s voice is calm and clear as ever. His advice is concise.

A poem can convey information that can’t be transmitted through prose or conversation. And all art is poetry. Art goes deeper than thought. Deeper than stories about yourself. It breaks through the inner walls and accesses what’s behind.

I am a hard thinker. Hard thinking does not guarantee deep thinking. Hard thinking can be anxious, stubborn, distracted, upset, superficial. Barriers to depth.

Yesterday I posted my delight for building and tinkering with my idea graph. I’ve been visualizing and connecting a “second brain.” I hadn’t stopped to think, it takes me tons of effort to get a handle on my first brain. Is now the right time to take responsibility for my second brain?

I’m picturing myself juggling (classic three ball cascade, of course). Tossing and catching the thinking, the feeling and the doing. They could also be the history, philosophy and creativity.

Conflicted feelings wrapped up in planning and plotting execution. Desire to Get It Right. The safety in endlessly dragging dots across a screen, imagining the perfect time to share even one belief.

I can't juggle if I don't throw. I'll probably drop, but then I pick up and throw again.

Rather than regret all this carving in one over-thinky direction (hard thinking), can I be optimistic?

I could definitely use more Feeling and Doing on top of the Thinking to move forward. But it begins with ideas, and I’ve been fishing for them. It’s been good.