Master Daydreamer

Today, I walked again of course, and I also listened to a number of TED Talks under the heading of beauty. There are 27 talks listed in this category, and if my math is not to far wrong, that amounts to about six hours of lectures. Today while walking into the sunrise on the northern shore of the Anacostia River, I passed up the opportunity to listen to a lecture on clouds.

Anacostia Morning with USS Barry

I passed up the opportunity for a number of reasons. When walking, I don't really like TED Talks that only have the recording available in video format. About fifty percent of the lectures via the TED app have a separate audio and video recording.  I like these while walking because the audio recording gives me the option of using other features of my phone (like the camera) while keeping the audio playback going.

The video only recordings require that I stop the playback in order to access any other features on the phone. It's a minor annoyance, but one that might tip the scales against a lecture that does not grab my attention. A lecture on clouds and more specifically cloud watching was just that sort of lecture. I took a pass.

Sunrise from the Parking Garage overlooking the Washington Navy Yard

One of the very consistent features that I've found with TED Talks is that I'm often enriched when I deliberately ignore my initial reaction to the subject of a particular talk. Things that I just know I'm going to find mind numbingly boring much more often than not introduce me to some new concept or idea that challenges my world view or gives me something to contemplate that was beyond my imagination before listening.

Sunrise over the 11th Street, SE Bridge

I circled back on the cloud spotting lecture during my commute home later in the afternoon. I thought, "What the hell...I'm going to be stuck in traffic for the next hour or so. I might as well get this one out of the way." Based on my previous experience in new thinking from less attractive topics, I've learned to force myself to listen to these lectures. I always go into them with a cringe and a shudder, but that path has not failed me yet.

Today the cloud spotting lecture came through in another eye opening way. The speaker suggested that cloud spotting provided the rationalization "to do nothing." He called on the listeners to become "Master Daydreamers" and that cloud spotting was an activity naturally geared toward that practice. Seeing shapes in clouds, be they kissing lovers, the grim reaper, an abominable snowman getting ready to rob a bank, or a naked woman lying on a beach is a test of observation and creativity. I

It is, however, not structured because you never can tell what those wisps of water vapor and ice may bring. To pull the shapes out of your head and project them into the sky, or vice versa, is the embodiment of the unstructured daily practice that I associate with being a "Master Daydreamer."

Working on mastery of daydreaming seems to dovetail nicely with my current set of daily disciplines, and I think I will add it to the milieu of the maladroit manner in which I seem to be conducting my days. I don't know if I'm making any progress, but it sure feels like I'm on the right path.