Seeing the Wood For the Trees

Truly reacting to something can only happen once. Everything else is a dilution

I discovered when in my younger years would be shown graphical designs. I found that my first reaction was the best in picking designs. If I looked at the design over and over again the reaction and conviction would dilute, muddy and become lost.

Bluebell woodland

Interestingly enough when listening to Rick Rubin’s (Columbia Records, Def Jam Recordings, American Recordings) book; The Creative Act he mentioned the same context. The importance of not re-visiting a piece of information over and over again. Doing so is detrimental to the work.

I deliberately don’t watch Media, Social Media because:

• They are a stream of negativity. Anything you do over and over again - impacts you and can become you. I talk a bit about Negative Manifestation

• They distract you

• Media is propaganda

Another metaphor is the idea of Boiling a Frog. Put a frog in cold water, turn up the heat very slowly, the frog notices no change, does not jump out and the frog is boiled.

When you consume media, social media daily;

You frame of reference is always being refreshed, everything is an escalation but because its so close to your current frame of reference it doesn’t seem much of an escalation.

If you avoid reading news and media, when you pop your head up for a deliberate surveying of the landscape you see everything with clarity, the whites are brilliant and the darks are the blackest. Contrast is maximum.

You will be able to act better to risks or opportunities this way.

Also consuming terrible footage, media, news makes you desensitized to something. At the beginning of Ukraine/Russia - (I didn’t know it was going on until someone told me) people were posting videos online daily of people being blown up with drones and grenades.

AVOID

Avoid news, social media

Treat your mind like your body - only feed it with good shit

In times of extreme risk or opportunity, pop your head up from the Meerkat Lair, survey the horizon, react to it, pop back in