Hi Jessica,
just came across your post and wanted to reply. When I understood something similar, it was a very important realization for me. You just feel the immense focus of concentration which comes with retreating to a vantage point where one is completely aware, relaxed, sailing a safe distance from the shore and really at sea, not caught up in the stress of choppy waves near land.
I think that in order to do good work which both engages with your time but is not caught up in it, you need to have quite a lot of self-discipline to stay out of the vast array of petty struggles and constant jockeying for position which happen in any field --- in sight of the shore but not too near it -- far enough away to feel the immensity beneath you and off to one side, the vast possibilities of movement. This was what struck me reading the interesting exchange about working in cafes
post. A space where one is open to the possibilty of interaction, but is importantly not a salon, nor a discussion: a public space where people can be alone together. With all the emphasis on collaboration these days it is easy to miss this crucial feature of serious academic or artistic work.
