Rain and waterfalls

Early summer rains
  so heavy
    they obscure the waterfall

-Basho


Long days of rain lately, interspersed with spots of sun. Similar to my hopes and fears in an uncertain time. 

Little bursts of inspiration come at unpredictable times. Then rain dims everything for a while. 

My desk, however, is starting to feel like a home again. A place where I can think. That being said, kottke.org reposted an essay by architect David Galbraith in which he describes how invention works for him:

"I created mess around myself, the kind of chaos that would be very dangerous in an operating theater but which is synonymous with artists’ studios, and in that mess I edited the accidents. By increasing the amount of mess I had freed things up and increased the possibilities, I had maximised the adjacent possible and was able to create the appearance of inventing new things by editing the mistakes which appeared novel and interesting."

I do have plenty of mess still to edit, though. Just because the desk is clear doesn't mean things are tidy. I love the idea that wonderful ideas can come from the correction and combination of old ones, I know what it's like to suddenly put two things together that you never did before. It's like making a puzzle into a collage.

I saw a picture of a friend by a waterfall today, and missed my own times at waterfalls. Not sure when I'll get back to them, but I'll keep looking for them through the rain.