Reading More

"...perhaps I am a philologist still, that is to say, a teacher of slow reading ... for philology is that venerable art which demands of its votaries one thing above all: to read well, that is to say, to read slowly, slowly, deeply..." Neitzsche

One of my goals for 2015 was to read more. Rather, I have instead adopted to read more carefully, that is to say, more slowly. I think there is some value in taking our time with reading a novel or a text and more fully appreciating the art and the craft of constructing a written work. I find myself more thoroughly enjoying written language when I take my time, instead of rushing through one novel just to get to the next one. This incessant urge to rush through things to get to the next is unfortunately imbued into our culture and our society of today. Not only in reading but in all things. This concept of reading slowly and enjoying each moment in a book can be taken into daily life as well. Enjoy the small moments of each day instead of rushing through. take the time to enjoy the walk home, the drive to work, the dishes you wash. Notice our world. Notice our life.

I love reading books. There is nothing like sitting quietly and enjoying the subtle constructions of sentences. It is a peaceful exercise. Lately I find myself spending more time reading than watching TV or movies, or listening to music. I enjoy the solitude and the silence.

Some of my favorite books I have read so far in 2015:

Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay (I actually read it twice back-to-back I enjoyed it so)

The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy (I read the beautiful Anna Karenina last fall)

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut (one of my favorite novels; I had read it before)

Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace (I am halfway through this gargantuan work but already it is incredibly powerful and well worth the time I am investing in it) 

The Film Shoot

I was on a film shoot this past weekend. It was a volunteer project through the New Brunswick Film Co-op, so I was working on this for free with a large group of people who were also all doing this for free. Doing free work can be a great thing. For one thing, stress is cut down way more. Everyone was there because we wanted to be. Everyone was having fun. We still worked hard, but we seemed to enjoy it a lot more. I've been on a few film shoots where people were being paid, and some of these have been less organized and people were a lot more stressed out. I was there to support the community of film-makers we have in NB and to support my fellow artists in creating something meaningful. We weren't doing it for a paycheck. We were doing it to share in the joy of creating art.

This film shoot also interrupted my routine. I typically go to bed around 9 or 10 PM (sometimes I'll stay up until 11 or even 12 on an odd night) and get up around 5 or 6 AM (I'll sleep in with my girlfriend on weekends - she is not as much a morning person as me). The shoot this past weekend was scheduled on Saturday night to run from 6PM until 6AM overnight. Obviously, this is in clear opposition to my usual sleep schedule.

One of my biggest things I have been focusing on to simplify my life is the development of a routine. I establish a routine of meditating daily to cultivate mindfulness. I exercise daily, I eat healthier, I do my dishes as soon as I finish eating (or I try to at least). But every now and then we have something that comes up that throws off our routine.

This isn't always a bad thing though. The film shoot was a great way to spend my weekend. Sure I lost sleep, but I gained so much more in return. I developed stronger relationships with friends, made new friends, and contributed to a meaningful project. I left the shoot feeling like I had done something worth my time and really connected with other people. I did something I find personally fulfilling and had a lot of fun in the process. Routines are great, and I think it is important to set up rules for how we live our lives. But sometimes we have to break our own rules to accomplish something great.

Photography Part 2

Now that I have shared my hobby of photography, I also want to share that I am not obsessed with taking pictures like some people are. Going on trips and fun experiences and unforgettable memories don't constitute the need for a photo every moment. Memories are for remembering and not locking away on a computer hard drive or in a photo album.

Photography for me, as I said earlier, is a creative outlet for me. It is as much an art form as poetry, or cinema, or painting, or music. It uses rules and concepts like composition, contrast, colour theory, negative and positive space, minimalism and maximalism, etc. It can be used to draw attention to a particular subject and comment on its existence or it can draw us deep into the frame in abstract form and guide us toward contemplation of things, nature, or ourselves. 

This may seem kind of snobbish, to think that a simple picture can evoke such deeply philosophical thinking within us, but I think all art does this. For me, photography is just another extension of my creative effulgence and I feel better when I am creating something, whether it be a film, a poem, a novel, or a photograph. Creation is a great gift that all of us are born with. Don't let it go.

Try creating something yourself today. And, most of all, have fun with it.