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Amazing Simplicity of Yes: 2021 in Review

Looking back gives an amazing simplicity to things. You know, hindsight – it’s the concept of rear-view mirror culture McLuhan introduced. I am not going to indulge in looking back. (I will say – if you need New Year’s inspiration, read / listen to my book called Yes I Can!) Instead of rehashing 2021, I am going to do what I suggested to someone I don’t know, but talk to – you know, some other dog on the internet – I’m going to talk about tomorrow. Better than that, I’m going to look toward tomorrow and talk about now. (I cannot tell you how exciting that is for me) (and no, I am not joking)

This post is going to start way left field and then zoom into something incredibly practical (yes, a story) and then – well I’m not sure what then, but we will see ! Here we go… Hold on…. !

Left Field (or is it Silly Mid-Point?)

In the first chpater of his book Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man, McLuhan says something poignant:

…cubism sets up an interplay of planes and contradiction or dramatic conflict of patterns, lights, textures that “drives home the message” by involvement…..Cubism, by seizing on instant total awareness, suddenly announced that themedium is the message.

In those few lines I can feel the enveloping embrace of a painting, the sounds of the lines bumping into nearby shapes – and I don’t mean metaphorically – I hear that. There’s an aluminum on glass scraping, with small metal filings curling off as the metalic shape slides and bumps a lump of sand. I see things and I hear them and I feel them.

That’s what 2022 is about. The realization of that. Well, the translation of that. That what? THINKING, that’s what – into pure communicated expression. Well that’s a goal, eh?!

Zoom in to instructions about how to liquefy egg whitespractical baking…

Holidays mean lots of baking, don’t they? This year was no exception. I was graced with some time with my daughter, and I do love to cook with her. Our amazing cookbook ‘Chocolate’ by Pierre Hermé, which has mostly giant pictures across 2-page spreads of amazing things came out. (each page is 11 x 14 inches, so these are BIG pictures) -and then the recipies… they sound mostly ok at first, with text like ‘preparation time 1 hr or … 5 mins’ but then…. (wait for it!)…. the first instruction is ‘five days in advance…’ !!! No Joke.

woman cooking, attending to different pots of the stove with each handWe made macaroons and that was the first instruction. You might be wondering what could you do five days in advance? Liquefy the egg whites of course! (yes, I too thought egg whites were already liquid) Seriously they did change! and the recipe worked terrifically! This was definitely not a cook by yourself type of recipe – here I am holding the thermometer in the boiling sugar while holding the electric mixer to whisk the egg whites while my daughter was measuring out the next something and … it was intense.

THERE IS A POINT

(which does relate to the year in review/looking forward)

It hit me a day or so later, walking on the street: the difference between some ok, half-baked alternative (and this applies to all sorts of things, not just food – think of anything you do, make, or use) lies in the thought, care, time, dedication to detail… and the better ‘it’ is, the better you understand it, the more deep you have gone into that subject – the more simple it seems.

Amazing simplicity.

As musicians, we learn to do less as we become more highly skilled. We work to ‘get out of the way’ and let the music speak.

In this cookbook that simplicity was in a picture – a whole, complete, simple, perfect picture. And this simplicity was not disrupted by the instructions. Some recipes included things like ‘make the pastry’ or ‘fold the ingredients’ -like with music, you really do far more than nothing, but so much is already known that it doesn’t have to be spelled out.

That difference came home to me in a cubism sort of way, and also the reality of these concepts being accessible to people in general came home to me. Words alone are hugely flawed, but – going back to that cubisim quote – the experience of the medium, of more than the medium – of the now, can be brought to people with preparation, care, and perspective.

That’s part of my plan for 2022. It’s not really a ‘hope’, but my unfolding now. This is my YES.

I realise I haven’t really explained myself. You have had a little dance with a few of my thoughts, and suffice to say – watch this space. There is more to come!

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