but i love it when it circles back to where you needed to be looking in the first place
"Instant gratification is a dead end. Purity always has and always will be a dead end. Purity has never led to anything interesting." Ottmar Liebert
A couple of days ago the Flickr Blog featured acclaimed Flemenco (is he technically Flamenco? seems to span a few genres) guitarist Ottmar Liebert. Liebert, turns out, is a Flickr denizen residing under the moniker o2ma. Never one to question the direction of the Flickr Blog, I went to check his stream out. And I found his stream intriguing. Not just the beautiful photos of teapots and bowls he collects (and I gotta admit: I've always wanted a tea bowl... I like rounded cups without handles), but the other stuff I found: photos of a zendo, the colors and landscapes of New Mexico, and the beautiful space of his studio.... So, me being me, I checked out his blog.
And I was so impressed. I guess I'm always impressed when a "known" person keeps a blog — and an interesting one at that. One thing led to another and I found myself saying "yes yes" out loud and following links and winding up at a Ken Wilber (!) web hot spot called Integral Naked built and fostered by some forward thinkers. And that place blew my mind.
Meanwhile, all this led to an interview with Liebert that was interesting, but it was the end that just knocked my socks off. Somehow an interview about the current state of affairs about radio and the recording industry did a u-turn into the land of discipline and purpose and that there are no short cuts to real joy, which was hypothesized as coming through discipline.
Wow! I played one part back three times — a quote from J. G. Ballard about the state of our current universities which was also a bit aha inspiring. And it wasn't just those things but one thing after another. One aha inspiring after another. And so dear friends, if you've made it this far in my blog post, here are some other highlights from his blog:
JG Ballard packs a punch
The chief role of the universities is to prolong adolescence into middle age, at which point early retirement ensures that we lack the means or the will to enforce significant change.
Discipline
Excellence begins with discipline. Excellence begins with discipline. There is no doubt in my mind about that.
Discipline:Joy
I think what I forgot to mention in my earlier post is that I would like to somehow explain/express the joy that comes from any discipline. Take a road, any road, and walk as far as you can. Take a craft, any craft, and take it as far as you can. Take meditation, any type of meditation, and take it as far as you can.
...
Discipline is work is joy. I think I am trying to express the joy I get out of the work. I believe discipline changes your brain. Practicing something over and over creates new paths in your brain that become accessible over time.
PDAs at the Symphony
"In an attempt to draw patrons and enhance the concertgoers' experience, several symphony orchestras - including the venerable New York Philharmonic - are testing a PDA-based program called the Concert Companion which provides real-time commentary about the piece being performed."
I still believe that looking at a PDA during a concert would take a person outside the music, although it would be tempting to try one's hand at writing poetic instructions for the concert-goers, like:
- close you eyes and count to 33
- take the hand of the person sitting to your right and hold it gently
- turn to the person sitting directly behind you and smile a luminescent smile
» Listen to the interview
» Listen to Luna Negra
No comments:
Post a Comment