the path is made by walking

and other insights

“I guess if I had one thing to say to artists— is to be patient. And, to enter the ignorance, of what you think you know…and if you don’t get the answer you’re expecting, that’s a good thing. Knowing what you’re doing is overrated.” —Pope L. interviewed by The Louisiana Channel.

If we’re too rigid with our creative pursuits, we miss out on a lot of the magic the path has in store for us. That is at least if you want to make interesting work and lead an interesting life. To me, that is the ultimate pursuit.

“Travelers, there is no path, the path is made by walking.” —Antonio Machado

So how do you trudge through this dense forest without a clear and specific goal? What’s worked for me is letting curiosity be my guide and learning my goal. Paying deep attention to what moves me, lights me up, and makes me curious. This usually ends up leading me into some sort of terra incognita.

A place where I feel like a foreigner. Unable to speak the language, unable to see what they see, unable to understand. This is where my motivation to acquire a new skills comes to be. To paint, to draw, to write, to speak another language. Without “knowing what I’m doing,” without a plan for where I’ll be at the other end. Curiosity for curiosity’s sake and learning for learning’s sake.

Trusting that growth, that becoming, will lead me somewhere exciting.

“If you’re not willing to take actions that don’t make sense, having an ordinary life will make perfect sense.” — Vizi Andrei