What did you do yesterday?

cultivating your treasure

I

What did I do yesterday? Well, I woke up just after sunrise, since it gets cold in the autumn mornings. That makes it hard to sleep in, but I slept great, so I was well-rested anyway.

I buttered some toast and jam for breakfast. What? Yes, of course I have a toaster. Do you think I live without technology out here? I have as much technology as I can possibly live with. Trust me, I would never have left the city if it meant hand-washing my clothes. Anyways, buttered toast and jam is the best breakfast.

I have been running low on groceries, so I went into town for some shopping. I like to go shopping in that window of time – after the pre-school rush, but before the work-from-home people show up around lunchtime. I pick out my tomatoes and pumpkins without the clamour of people all around me. I will only come back in two weeks, so I carry a hefty load.

After lunch, I went to a nearby clearing where I had stacked some logs for a project. I carve statues out of wood – I’ve done that since I moved out here. I started with simple geometric shapes: spheres, pyramids, cylinders. The end results weren’t that interesting, but it was satisfying to see something in the wood that nobody else sees, and then bring it into existence. So I kept at it, and now I carve pretty decent figurines.

While carving, I listened to the birds. I don’t know their names, but I have a good memory for sounds, so I can usually hear when there’s a bird around that I haven’t encountered. When I can’t see the new bird, I like to imagine who it is. Chrrrrup. I bet that one is black-and-white, a bit large, with weird tail feathers and a mellow personality. Cheep cheep cheep. That one is ginger, tiny and excitable. Someone I met at a party once remarked that the world must look so different to birds, since they’re above it all. I might start carving bird statues.

Before the sunset, I set aside my tools and found a nearby tree with willing branches. I was careless with time; I usually take a short hike up the hill for a good view of the sunset. But I was distracted by the carving and the birds and I didn’t notice the sun setting, so I had to settle for peering through the foliage. Even through the leaves, I felt bathed in light. I was getting hungry, but I stayed until the red streaks were gone. Sometimes I think I was born to experience the sunset. Do you know what I mean?

Then I went home and considered my options for dinner. The weather these days calls for a steaming bowl of soup, and I felt invigorated, so I spent an hour making a lentil squash soup. I drank my soup out of a mug as I sat on my back porch. Then I curled up in bed, switched off the lights, and drifted off immediately.

II

What did I do yesterday? It’s interesting, these days it’s hard to answer that question. In some sense, the answer is that each day I do whatever I want, and what I want changes each day. Human beings need variety, and I’ve tried to craft a lifestyle that lets me experience variety.

Yesterday in particular, I woke up at 9 am. Like everyone else, I want to fix my broken sleep schedule. Kicking the habit of using my phone before bed is really hard. I would say that’s my current project in life. I brewed some puerh tea instead of eating breakfast. I didn’t feel hungry, and I don’t eat purely out of habit. Most people today don’t need breakfast. We don’t live in agrarian societies, none of us have to work in the fields at sunrise, and I don’t need that much fuel to work at a desk.

Work yesterday involved talking to a few interesting people. I had a lunch meeting first, then an afternoon coffee chat. Lunch was with a junior colleague who I’ve been mentoring. They’re talented, like most people we hire. But what I like about this person is that they are psychologically secure. When they ask for feedback, they actually want feedback, not just reassurance that they’re meant to be where they are. Having a strong sense of self is a prerequisite to success. Not just for career success, but for having a life that you will consider successful at the end. Afternoon coffee was with a vendor we are considering working with. We went to my counterparty’s favorite coffee truck and discussed a few things. It’s always more informative to meet someone in their own environment.

Some of my colleagues went to a happy hour after work, but I decided to do some preparatory work for a big project I’m kicking off next week. I don’t consider myself a workaholic. I have personal projects that I am quite invested in. But I am also proud of the work that I do, and I don’t flinch at the idea of putting in extra time for it. We are what we repeatedly do, after all. Besides, I’m not much of a drinker, and work happy hours are a far cry from the quality time I would prioritize over my work.

I got home late, after eating a salad bowl in the office. I read for an hour before bed, then turned in. I couldn’t resist scrolling for a while, after then I spent some more time staring at the ceiling before sleeping. As I said, it’s an ongoing project.

III

What did I do yesterday? So, okay. Well, I have two work modes. Either I spend all day working on one piece, or I work on several pieces at once. Yesterday was the second kind of day. I had a few concepts brewing that I wanted to get into a rough workable form before they dissolved. If I had taken up writing instead, recording my inspirations would have been as simple as typing a few sentences in a notes app. But holding images in my mind’s eye is not my strong suit, so I need to get them onto paper when they arise. For example – I’ll just show you, so this one, that bird is a steller’s jay – it has a beautiful blue color that, I haven’t colored it yet, but I’m going to have to mix carefully to get the right one, you should look it up. And it’s going to have a mosaic background that’s like – you can see it, just imagine that but with some religious imagery that I have to figure out.

At the same time, I worked on finishing a piece that I have to deliver to a client this week. That’s a portrait of him and his dog, I’ve tried it a few times, but I struggle with portraits. I wish I could say it was because I’m face-blind or some other good reason, but it’s just that my attempts to draw people always feel flat. Still, portraits are my most common commissions. It’s the art that pays my rent, not the art I want to make. I don’t mind, though – it all balances out in the end.

I also got a new client yesterday! She lives around here, she found me on Instagram and asked me to give her a lesson next week. She said my work was really creative. That was fun, yeah. When I was in first grade, my art teacher gave me a D for creativity. She did! Yeah, I don’t know why they were grading first-graders on creativity. It’s hilarious in retrospect, but it kept me away from art for years. Maybe in nearby universes it pushed me away from art completely, even. I wouldn’t say my art is creative now – no, I’m not putting myself down, I just think “creative” is a loaded word. People ask questions like “do you work really hard or are you just really creative?” and I can tell that “creative” to them means something titanic. As if your sinews are the warp and weft of the universe, and your eyes see the nature of all things. It’s overwhelming, what people expect from you when they think you’re creative. Or I’m being neurotic, and she just wanted to compliment my work. Who can say?

I’ve skipped a lot of details, I guess. In the morning, I made some coffee and had a bagel. For lunch, this is bad but I skipped lunch, it’s really not a big deal I was just caught up... I wasn’t trying to skip a meal. I’m just in the stage right now where I can just keep drawing. I have a couple of weeks like that, where it feels like my eyes see the essence of all things, and I can spin every vague image into gold. Then there’s a couple of weeks where the well is dry, and I can’t even draw an apple without wanting to go for a long walk instead. I work knowing that I’m working for today and tomorrow, and I rest knowing that I’m resting for today and yesterday.

In the evening, I met up with some girlfriends to go to a warehouse rave. It was a fake warehouse, obviously, but the atmosphere was glorious anyway. The electronic music was only slightly too harsh to enjoy, with an acceptably strong bass. The lighting was vibrant with color, powerfully strobing. I got home at 4 am, too wired to sleep. I was responsible enough to stay away from the unfinished paintings, of course. I drank a ton of water, put on some music, and danced in my studio until I crashed at 6 am. It was spectacular.