John Hyatt

Well talk about good timing, John Hyatt, who gave us a talk in Hazel's creative methodology lectures, gave us a talk about Time, Space and Memories, which was exactly what I wrote my essay about. It's nice to think I'm not the only one who sees the world in such a large perspective, or should I say small. He says that the sense of scale shifts, as in we are so tiny to the world; to the universe, and too many people see just themselves, and their lives. I find this strange oddly enough, as there is so much out there. People can be so contained within themselves. We need to have a correct perspective on stress, If we look at the large things and make them small, like a small object in our pockets, then it won't seem like such a big deal. These objects can then be compared to the world, and in this way can see how irrelevant they can be. He tried to take photos of stars, but his hand couldn't stay still, and so became wiggles. This can be represented as an expression of time, as it is a linear construct, and when we look at the photo, it's like he star is in fact right next to us. We remember stories of the past, and can dream for the future, but memories need to be constructed in the now. We can also look upon this as a life span. That of a gnat is very small, it can only live for a day, and so whatever it experiences in its life is what it knows. What we experience in our life is what we know, nothing before, nothing after. Our life is the only time the universe exists, We should use the now and enjoy it and embrace change. As an artist the responsibilities become greater in knowing we have this time now, and we need to make the most of it. Art is important, but also at the same time not important, but not unimportant. Nothing to be taken too seriously. I believe this too. We will never get out alive if this is the case. Why worry about things you cannot change? The buddhist way of thinking has always interested me too, in the way they seem to lead such peaceful lives as they do not have this western way of thinking; everything needs to be done now. Meditating also helps them be a peace. The world is so beautiful, you don't have to look hard to find this out. People rush too much to see that in fact beauty is right in front of their very eyes.

'To see a world in a grain of sand,
And heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour.'
-William Blake, Auguries of Innocence, 1803