Dangerous Little Minute
Steve's Peeve's
Ralph Waldo Emerson observed that when writing sometimes the perfect idea, word, (or melody), “that dangerous little minute,” causes such excitement that…
“The glass shakes, the wine is spilled!”
We’ve all been there before:
“Oh, my gosh!”
“ That’s it!”
“That’s great!”
“Whew!”
“Wait a minute….”
“What did you say!?”
“Didn’t you write it down?”
“Oh no!”
Alas, the Muse giveth and the Muse taketh away.
Nature’s first green is gold
Her hardest hue to hold
Her early leaf’s a flower
But only so an hour -Robert Frost
The lesson here? Before getting too excited about something-Save the intuition!
Stoically acknowledge the gift while committing it to paper, screen, or recorder before it’s gone!
It is not permitted to say one word when raising and taking possession of a buried treasure, no matter how shocking or delightful it may appear. One must only act in silence.
So, before we get too excited when we happen to catch a glimpse of that rare bird in the backyard, or celebrate our momentary genius for that perfect rhyming word we’ve been agonizing over, best to pause with a deep breath, while acknowledging the gift, before we chase it away.
Wine photo by Saman Taheri on Unsplash
Hand with Gem photo by Moreno Matković on Unsplash
So much practical truth. Word.