I choose collaborators. Sometimes they are dancers - sometimes people with specific technical skills - sometimes artists I love and admire.
Their work is one important aspect. Another is how they influence my mental landscape.
Do I end up fixating on tiny dramas and administrative static when collaborating with them? Do I become fascinated by and educated in another level of detail that will make me a better artist? Both are details, but one enriches me and my life, while the other is a waste of my time.
I pay attention to what they bring to the table, but also what effect they have on my time and mind.
Time is the most precious commodity we have. That is why a nap feels like the greatest luxury. I’m giving myself the meat of my day. I am allowing my mind to wander where it likes rather than training it to stay on the road of productivity.
My mind is my most precious resource. If I spend brain cycles on minutiae, I am not spending those cycles on bigger, brighter, more interesting creations and solutions.
I am building a fence around my mind. This beast of a creative engine can get lost when I do not guide it. Out of love, I curate. I choose what my mind’s eye will gaze upon. I want beauty. I want abundance. I want my soul to sing. I only want to give my time and mind to the projects that excite me. I must be rigorous in my pruning.
This is part of the practice: choosing what gets access to the instrument of your attention.
Here are a few questions you are welcome to borrow:
Am I diving into a rich lake of detail, or being trapped in dissonance?
Does this collaboration feed the work’s brilliance, or make me defend my approach?
Do I leave more excited about the work and my life?
photo of Ian Smith and Cari Delaplane in an exploratory ‘Okeanos’ rehearsal about the coral reef.