It’s not often that you come across a book that is completely engrossing, teaches you something valuable, and–most importantly–leaves you viewing the world differently than when you started it.
For me, Underland, by Robert Macfarlane has been one of those books. It’s a book about Robert’s exploration of past, present and future of the unseen world beneath our feet.
Over the course of the book, we’re taken on a twisting subterranean journey through limestone caverns that served as prehistoric burial chambers, the sprawling catacombs that make up the shadow city beneath Paris, dark matter research laboratories and mines whose tendrils stretch far beneath the North Atlantic Sea, Nuclear storage facilities being designed to last 10,000 years and more.
It’s a fascinating book that, even more than the Underland, is about time, deep time to be exact, and our tiny place in–and yet profound effect on–it as humans.
But while the book is stunningly written and has had a profound effect on my own view of time, this isn’t an article about the contents of the book itself.
Instead, I want to talk about something I was struck by in the Acknowledgements at the very end of the book.
Along with the typical acknowledgments including everyone who helped bring the book to life–his friends, family and supporters big and small, Robert included this line:
*”Among the music and musicians whose work has kept me company above and below ground, I could not have done without AR, Bon Iver, the Duke Spirit, Elbow, Johnny Flynn, Grasscut, Willy Mason, the Pixies, Karine Polwart, Schubert, Cosmo Sheldrake, and Le Tigre.”
Music has played a huge role in my life, I played in bands in and after high school and went to school to be an audio engineer because I wanted to produce records. While I don’t create music at the moment, it still plays a huge role in my life, and–as I realized while reading Robert Macfarlane’s acknowledgments–my work.
This acknowledgment of gratitude got me thinking about not just the musicians, but all the artists, creators, teachers, scientists, and others who have a profound impact on the work each of us does.
Most of these people will never know we exist, let alone the impact they’ve had–big or small–on our work. But I can’t help but feel a deep connectedness at the thought of this cross-discipline, -medium, -professional network of shadow support, inspiration, and encouragement.
Change Or Accompaniment?
I know many of us, myself included, hope that our work will change people, leave them seeing the world differently after consuming it, much like Underland has done for me. But as I think about this less-direct form of support, I realize what an essential role accompaniment plays in our and other’s ability to create work and lives that mean something.
Whatever we’re working towards, we all need teachers, guides, and mentors to show us the way forward. But we also need company along the journey. This accompaniment might be the literal people we work and collaborate with, but more often, they’re the people and their creations that across time and space have the ability to soothe us, steel us, and most of all, keep us moving forward when it feels all but impossible.
I can think of numerous moments in my own life where, without the right album or song or book at the right time, things might have turned out very differently, perhaps leading me to take a different fork in the road. In fact, I often think back to a single moment in junior high home economics class when I was 14 years old where my friend Tyler Lofstrand first introduced me to Metallica and set me off on an entirely new path.
Short detour here, I don’t think I ever realized the irony of being introduced to Metallica in Home Economics class until writing it down here. Anyway, that’s a story for another time.
These accompaniments have the ability to remind us that we’re not alone on our creative quest, that we’re in good company, working together toward a shared vision of the future.
My goal with this newsletter has always been to create something that changes your perspective, leaves you seeing the world a little bit differently. But I’m realizing that I would be equally honoured for it to simply be the background accompaniment to the larger work you’re creating.
As I’m writing this issue, I’ve just passed the 5-year anniversary of my business, Counterweight Creative, and so to close out this article, it feels apropos to share some acknowledgments of the background accompaniment that has kept me company across the world and through the ups and downs, thick and thin of building a creative business. Here goes.
So much love and gratitude to those who have provided the soundtrack to the past 5 years in business, including Hailaker, EDEN, The Republic Of Wolves, Trophy Eyes, Misery Signals, Ben Howard, Gregory Alan Isakov, Donovan Woods, Bon Iver, Can’t Swim, The Story So Far, Gang Of Youths, Novo Amor, Tyson Motsenbocker, Henry Jamison, The Gaslight Anthem, Movements, nothing,nowhere. Overgrow, Sights & Sounds, The Tallest Man On Earth, Tall Ships, Thrice, Valleyheart, Driveways, Dustin Tebbutt, Ed Prosek, Ed Patrick, Hayden Calnin, Hundredth, Jack Larsen, Jeremy Zucker, Layover, American Football, Andrew Belle, Avalanche City, Boston Manor, Cape Francis, Cigarettes After Sex, Everything Everything, and CommonWealth. I could not have got here without your work.
Who’s on your list?
Oh, and yes, I made a playlist. It’s long, but I’m a full-album kind of guy, and you can listen to a lot of albums in 5 years.
Explore how to navigate a creative life that matters
This article originally appeared in my weekly Listen Up Newsletter. Each issue is the product of a week of work, and contains something not available for sale.
Fresh perspective, a shot of encouragement when you need it most, and maybe even some genuine wisdom from time to time.
Each week, we explore a different facet of the question “How do we navigate the wilderness of creating work that matters?”
It’s something I’m proud to create and I’d be honoured to share it with you.
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