On experiencing life slowly for an artist - Rick Rubin

I think when we’re moving slow, we’re stopping to experience each part. I know if I go to the beach for my morning walk and I go myself, I walk at the pace that I walk, get my heart rate up, stay consistent, listen to my podcast or audiobook, and pay attention to the things around me. I might stop and capture an image or make a note if something occurs to me.

But if I were to do that same walk with my son, that will not be the cadence of the walk. My son will stop anywhere there is anything interesting to him and he’ll stop for a long time. He’ll find a shell, a stone, a piece of wood, whatever it is. He’ll stop and just engage fully.

And I’m living on schedule, trying to get my steps in. And he’s living in the world really as an artist, as a creative being, engaging in the world, stopping for what catches his attention. He’s got no other agenda other than whatever is right in front of him that’s holding his interest.

So if we can get back to that childlike, the schedule doesn’t matter, what I’m trying to accomplish doesn’t matter, I’m here in this moment, present with what’s going on, and I’m going to give attention to whatever it is that calls me, that’s the practice.

on slowness, taste, and living well