Procrastinate Now |
Key West (KW) Has A Crush On Me
Key West has an idea on how to spend time: Do nothing. This is the "personality" and PACE of KW. Once you make the conscious choice to tune into it, the ocean awaits---it's the space between things.
Music is the space between the notes. What is the space between MY notes? My souls rhythm. It leaves room for surprise and anticipation. Being at sea for a few days, I went on a digital diet-no internet. Spaces were created by holding back information-It works.
The Japanese concept of Ma,(negative space, pause, The Gap) is in full bloom. Essentially, what is NOT going to happen today! Taking it easy, allowing things to happen rather than Being Busy.
When I lived in Tokyo, nobody ever said no. One of the ways Nihon Jins said no, was the time they took between saying YES. That long pause is the space between things. Yes I Don't--
I didn't get it (The Joy of "wasting" time) because every second in Tokyo was like calorie counting: a commute to the 7/Eleven became a Japanese lesson on my Walkman (iPod) while writing kanji characters, scanning the subway car loaded with Salaryman (サラリーマン, " time layering" and multi tasking on the lookout for new information instead of what I already found.
The Narrative
KW challenges how we think about clock TIME. No self presentation, no one telling you "I am so busy" No voices saying "How stressed I am" like some medal of honor. The stories which we tell ourselves generally define time-- Yet, as long as we believe they we are busy, getting involved in projects, we will keep telling our storyline to anyone who wants to hear it, to validate us. It seems so real but actually so illusionary.Even a small dose of KW awe gives me a momentary boost in life satisfaction and seemingly expands my future.