learning from da vinci

"The greatest geniuses sometimes accomplish more when they work less".
...Leonardo da Vinci

I am reading "How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci". I started this book last January on a road trip, but when the trip ended so did my reading of this book. I picked it up again last night and found some valuable insights. da Vinci has always been a favorite artist of mine. I remember doing a report on him in the 6th grade complete with a meticulously sketched copy of his self portrait as the cover. Although at the time I am not sure what captivated me now I think it was his approach to life. Maybe it is just this book that I am reading now that seems to paint a larger than life romantic picture of da Vinci, but why should I care? I am inspired by the portrayal and so I'll take it.

He lived art. And he lived in extremes. He studied everything and he listened to himself. And he trusted what he heard. Sometimes I have a hard time doing that. Then there is the question of listening to your "inner self", or God, discernment, spirit, etc... Who am I listening to? Sometimes there are just too many voices, and it is hard to tell what's what until they just shut up. Really it is just culture driven noise brought on by paying too much attention to the news, but it clouds my clarity.

Did Leonardo have that problem?

Anyway, I like the fact that he didn't seem to second guess himself. He just explored everything. I wonder if the majority of western culture has fallen into a pattern of second guessing that comes close to crippling us. Although even the magazine covers at the grocery check-out line seem to all scream "be impulsive," or "indulge yourself", I wonder if in contrast, we get locked in positions of self-doubt only to do nothing at all.

I tend to do things in extremes and then feel guilty afterward. I will work like mad on a creative spurt and then be totally down for a day and feel awful for it. That is why I liked the quote. It seemed that Leonardo understood the balance of that and validated it. I have enough of the western-work-ethic, thing ingrained in me that I struggle with feeling a peace about my extreme work habits. I can know it intellectually, but I tend to not be very forgiving of myself. At the end of a day I judge it by how much was accomplished. If I spend a whole day "down" I have a hard time recognizing it as a positive, healthy, filling of the well, for the next "productive day". Ugh!

So I will try to listen to Leonardo. Who am I to question? Maybe what I think is extreme is actually balance in disguise.