What does it mean to “go meta”? Do you ever feel like an observer observing another observer who is observing something? How many layers of perspective can there be anyway?

With a good part of my life consumed with writing projects, including this weekly newsletter, there are ample opportunities to ponder the act of writing itself.

Maybe you write, maybe you don’t. I know some of my readers have written multiple books, I know others rarely compose anything more complicated than a brief email or text message.

Part of my process of putting down words involves practicing good media hygiene. On days such as this when writing is on the agenda, I make an effort to avoid news, social media, or any other distractions until my train of thought is firmly on the rails.

Writing about writing is more than just navel gazing. It’s a way of getting outside of yourself to see what’s going on inside. The same dynamic can be applied to any creative process.

So when I ran across this line in the Atlantic it really hit home with me. “To write is to free oneself from the constraints of memory.” The article “What is Classical Music” written by Matthew Aucoin puts the genre in an entirely new light.

He points out that what makes classical music different is not so much the sound or the style, but the fact that it is a written form of music. It is written before it is heard. “The process is one of unearthing sound by delving into silence.”

The cool thing about writing is that you can learn a lot about yourself wrestling with the blank page. For me, after several hundred of these newsletters, I started to notice they seem to be having a positive effect on my own life. I don’t always take my own advice, but when I remember to, I’m glad I did.

Your empty page is unique to you, and only you know how to wrestle with it. Somewhere between your creative process and your blank slate of choice lies the lesson you’re ready to learn.

Much love and more meaning until next Monday!

Merci et à bientôt!

M+

ML #632

Mark Metz
Monday Love
Music & Movement Calendar