In a Moment #78
While exploring on my first trip to Mexico City a few weeks ago, I happened upon a gallery and the quote in the photograph above,
You are who you practice being — William Gaber
This collection of words has been bouncing around my head for the last few weeks. It’s scrawled on a post-it that hangs above my desk as a reminder. A reminder of the freedom we have when it comes to defining ourselves. This reminder that through practice, we form who we are, how we show up and how we percieve and impact the world.
Lately, I’ve been practicing art, sketching the local dogs of my neighborhood. Do I identify as an artist? Well, this quote makes it feel more possible.
Further, I’ve been practicing deliberately engaging with things created by humans, specifically music. With the news of the first billboard-charting AI artists, it occurred to me that with my habit of listening to Spotify-curated playlists, I couldn’t guarantee that I wasn’t listening to AI-generated music myself. And so I pulled out my grandmother’s old radio and tuned into local radio. With that simple action, I connected with humans enjoying music made by humans.
That’s the thing, I want to practice experiencing this life through tangible things — art, performance, music. I want to see, feel, hear and take in this whole world around me that exists. I want to experience as many of the creations other people bring into this world as possible. This is the practice I seek to cultivate.
I explore all these ideas and a bit more in my lastest audio update shared above.
And if you’re interested in bringing a bit more humanity into your music listening, a few ideas:
My current favorite human-created playlists on Spotify:
Everyday Oil - They also make the best-smelling body oils!
A few local radio stations that also offer streaming
The Lot Radio, be sure to check out Love Injection’s show on Saturday mornings!
And the dial of my grandma’s radio is usually tuned to WKCR jazz radio
✌🏻 & 💗