Keep Moving

Every doorway, every intersection has a story.
– Katherine Dunn

Ironically last August I advocated The Art of Doing Nothing and in August 2013, I skipped the whole blog post! Since then I’ve walked through a lot of doorways – this August I’ve decided to keep moving.

Every doorway, every intersection offers an experience. A story doesn’t present itself fully formed – the intersection gives birth to potential. Without vision and movement you have only ink on a page, paint on a canvas, frames spliced together ABC or a static hunk of stone. Like life, a story moves. When the momentum stalls, the tightrope slackens, you lose your balance. And nobody cares. Like a story, life moves…

The world is always in movement.
– V.S. Naipaul

The medium of film has an inherent advantage because even a thin story moves with inevitability as time progresses on the screen. Yes I know, there are plenty of lousy films, but Alfred Hitchcock knew the trick. No you don’t have to terrify. His modus operandi, “drama is life with the dull bits cut out” keeps you on edge, holding out for more – and more after that. I’m pondering if life could imitate this art form i.e. cut out the dull bits. How cool would that be?

But ok, have you ever succumbed to the quicksand of inertia? AKA perfectionism, don’t open the door, avoid the intersection, blinkered blindness. If you hold out for the perfect moment you may have a lengthy wait, if you don’t pry open the door how will you know what lies within, if you avoid the intersection you forfeit opportunity and without vision we just returned to the parking lot.

We see in order to move; we move in order to see.
― William Gibson

Moving on, moving along, moving past, moving out, moving over, moving on up, moving as in profound, or movin’ to the rhythm. You can strum it, rap it, chant it or tat it on your arm. But don’t disregard the experience. Action breeds more action, curiosity compounds creativity, attentive seeing transforms into vision. One of these ingredients alone won’t add up to much. But when action, creativity and vision intersect – you’ve got yourself a story.

So in the interest of seeing, seeking and momentum, I’ll keep this August post brief. Oh, but don’t forget the details – the luminous lines, curves and colors of fish moving through the water. How the vines entwine. And how a person walks.

Keep moving!