"Space-Time Post Office, Letter No. 5" Getting Bored is a Talent—Fragments of Leonardo da Vinci
"It is not that you have grown bored. It is that you have finished understanding."
...My dear friend.
Look into the mirror.
The reason your eyes are clouded is because you have stayed in one place for too long,
and your retinas have become paralyzed by a static view.
The people of the world preach that
"persistence is power,"but if you ask me,that is nothing more than an excuse for those who have stopped thinking.
Water rots if it stays in one place,
and the wind loses its power if it does not blow through.
All things maintain their
life
by being in constant flux.
The moment you feel that you have"grown bored,"your gaze has already pierced the geometric core of that phenomenon,
and is seeking its next nourishment.
All things are connected.Study painting,
study anatomy,
study the flapping of a bird's wings.
Even if they appear scattered at first glance,
in my mind, they converge into one great
"principle of light and shadow".
Quitting one thing is notrunning away.
Consider it an intellectual
"molting" and "leap"to draw a larger, more vast map of truth.
Now,
let me show you a little of the behind-the-scenes of my thinking.
The moment I let go of something I have finished understanding,
I am by no means standing in a void.
I am searching for the light named the next"question,"and unfolding a map of the unknown in my mind.
Whether I am putting down my paintbrush,
or closing my anatomy book,
my eyes are already chasing the next
sign of discovery.This void is not mere boredom,but a quiet stirring to perform an intellectual leap.
And—the result of repeating this"leap"has become the very nature of my work.
Let me tell you a little about my style.
Many of the works I have undertaken are
"unfinished."The world calls that my weakness,but for me,
the moment the answer appears on paper,
that work is finished.
The rest is just repetitive laborand my time should be used for the discovery of a more noble
"First Cause (Prima Causa)."
Listen to me.
From tomorrow,cast aside the servile curse that says, "You must see it through to the end."Can you only be obsessed with something for three days? Then in those three days,
you should devour its
coremore deeply than anyone else.And, the moment you get bored, jump to the next prey.
Do not become an ordinary person who skillfully stacks one thing upon another.
Keep striking points (domains) of countless interests,
and when they connectlike a constellation,the laws of the universe that only you can see will reveal themselves.
Burn your life for continuing to discover, rather than for completing things.
Do not wear out your life on mere routines.
Leonardo da Vinci
"Completion is not the end. The moment you stop discovering is the end."