Renee De Four

This is where my journey with Agnes Martin begins - chapter 4, part 3 of A Simpler Life titled “voluntary poverty”.

The first time I read this, I was at a loss for words. How can someone live like this? I suppose a better question is, what did Agnes Martin realize or see that most of us don’t? Somehow, she was able to see that these fleeting forms of pleasure don’t bring happiness anyway, like Rupert (Spira) says.

Something else fulfilled her and it wasn’t to be found in acquiring material objects.

Personally, I know these things don’t bring happiness, certainly not in and of themselves. I’ve known this for years yet I still fall back into these cycles of materialistic consumption. I must pay more attention to the moment that my awareness shifts from the internal to external.

Here is the answer to the question I asked in the first post. Agnes Martin discovered that painting was all she needed to be fulfilled in this life. I wonder at what age in life did she discover this? Was it an innate knowing or did she struggle?

I envy people like this who know what their “thing” is. I’m 30 years old and it frustrates me deeply that I don’t have a strong affiliation with one thing. Whether that’s writing, or reading, painting or playing an instrument. I’m starting to wonder if I need to try new things?

What I do enjoy - building workflows with digital tools, solving problems by creating systems does not feel like an artistic thing!

I can build and perfect a Notion or Tana workflow for hours until a solution is found but something feels like it’s missing. Maybe it’s because it’s not tangible like painting?

I don’t know but I think I need to pick up pottery - maybe that will be my thing.

Update 1/4/25 9:15 pm - This quote also reminds me of Hirayama from Perfect Days. He too discovered something far more precious than material accumulation.