Spontaneity

Well, I never did get back to writing down all the thoughts I didn't have time to leave here on Sunday evening. Not that I didn't try. I opened up the post, tried to recall what I wanted to share, but the effort felt contrived, artificial, removed from the moment. Disingenuous.

Being impulsive and spontaneous can cause all kinds of trouble, but it also can be a great strength. Surprise, delight and inspiration are the happy children of these traits; embarrassment, disaster and disillusion are the bad offspring. The trick is to develop good enough instincts to avoid the accidental procreation of miserable results, and to still allow room for the unanticipated discovery and wonder that spontaneity can lead to. Planning is important, and recklessness is not a promising life principle, but too much pondering and delay spoil one's experience of the present. Which is, of course, all that we really have.

Birkenstocks, coffee press, and a Rad Davis pipe, 8 x 10 1/2, 9B graphite with Derwent Inktense pencils