I’ve been very doomer-y this week. Sorry. I thought I’d cap the week off with something positive…
October 27, 2024
Lincoln Centre
New York, NY
My ol’ pal Mo Willems1 is on stage, killing. (A troubling verb for a room full of children, but there is no other word for it.) Several hundred people under the age of eight, screaming for a man who draws a pigeon live at Lincoln Centre. I’m in the balcony, among the only adults who arrived without a child as cover, in awe.
He’s a great role model, and a prolific artist. The kids excitedly run up to him to show them their artwork (yes, drawn on screens, but let’s meet them halfway) as he sits at the edge of the stage, trying to cultivate a new generation of humans who don’t sit in front of a laptop all day and learn to ‘vibe code’.
Anyway. This week Austin Kleon posted something Mo says about ants.
The short version:
“An ant finds food and broadcasts the news out of its butt, and the whole colony forms a line and marches the trail until the food runs out. Which it always does.
The colony survives because of a few ants who ignore the trail entirely, wandering off at angles, turning up on your kitchen bench, getting stepped on. “Those are the artists in our culture,” Mo says.
“We are the random ants.”
I have never felt so seen by an insect.
I’ve been stepped on a fair bit this year. But nobody finds new food by walking in a straight line …and that’s the job now.
That’s. The fucking. Job.
‘til next time!
Your pal,
PS. Look, if this actually did something for your brain (or at least distracted you from the creeping dread of your own inbox for six minutes), please consider restacking this and sharing it with your people. It’s the only way the word spreads.
I first met Mo at the NCS Reuben Awards, where we got to shoot some funny sketches together. We’re part of the very small ‘Reubens Hosts Club’, pictured below:
He’s a prolific author and an inspiring guy. You can watch his whole episode of The Idea Garden below.
You can watch my episodes with Austin Kleon here:
I love Mo Willems and I love this analogy about the ants!
I adore this ants analogy. Thank you!