A genius creation that exists only inside our minds can’t hold a candle to the energy that exists in even the tiniest bit of stuff you make.
I think of Energy as the felt forces like movement, impact, influence, and reach. Energy is usually experienced as a force that makes things move in this universe: it explodes stars and makes waves. Energy is power. And in order to boost Energy in this Einstein-meets-art sense, you need to think of mass too –– that is, material form.
E = mc2
Energy equals mass times the speed of light squared – Einstein
I feel what artists, writers and musicians do, is create material forms from a combination of Energy and thought. Some makers use heavy materials as a medium like metal and concrete, and some use lightweight ‘things’ like sound waves and digital bits, but we all work with some kind of stuff1 to make some kind of “m.”
Einstein didn’t just think, he tested, then wrote a paper
Einsteins special relativity equation2 says to me: Energy grows most when multiplied by mass. Another way to play with this formula is: if you remove mass from the equation, all that remains is energy divided, and speed. E/m = m/m x c2
I experience the speed of light as similar to the speed of thought. They both move fast, illuminate, and perhaps even understand… but neither thought nor light necessarily move anything in this world. That is, unless butting up against some worldly stuff. Because of this, I feel like anything made in a worldly medium has intrinsic power. The intention, the questions, the mental workings, the insights, the good will, the “light”of the artist gets manifest inside the thing, and then its intrinsic energy also has the means to do something.
On a simple level, you could think about how making something takes your attention & thought from inside your brain into a real life form, and maybe that thing can help others.
“making a cup of tea,
I stop the war”
– Paul Reps, Zen Master
Knit a sh!tty scarf and save the world
If you were to knit, for instance, your most powerful thoughts are at play as your hands move. Your thoughts could be created, melded, considered, improved, released, and more, all while you move your fingers and some yarn. And you also make an item– a scarf that is a manifestation of the esoteric work. Maybe it’ll keep you warm too.
We all do solve the world’s problems in a way, just by thinking, if that’s our intention anyway. The thing is, we need to do something to ignite this universal relationship of mass to Energy for our solutions to affect others too. We need bring our best thoughts into the outer world, any way we can. Knitting a scarf, making mac & cheese, writing on a bathroom mirror, a loving letter all matter. They truly alchemize matter. This is where the making of matter (no matter how small, hokey, or misunderstood) becomes a workable lever of this universal mechanism of Power.

For instance, in this post my thoughts about shining a light on an idea that can help good creative people have more impact. The result is bits on a chip on a server.3 In this image, you can also see my first knitted scarf tossed about my head, which I dragged out in honor of the moment.
The Application: move your body, move materials, make things
I firmly believe it is less important which medium, or the final result, as much as doing some work to bring your best thoughts into form. Any form. The connection between the two can remain private, ambiguous, and unstated. This is how and why great art impacts us so much. The Energy of awesome works is felt, even if we can’t 100% understand what the artist had in mind in the making.
So it’s totally cool to be vague, in fact, the epitome of cool. Just make your best thoughts, your kindest notions, and your greatest love take on some mass, then thank yourself for having the courage to do so.
Aren’t you glad you asked?
I hope you make something today. 😜
- Stuff = your medium! ↩︎
- Simple explainer here says: mass and energy are the same physical entity and can be changed into each other. ↩︎
- This honestly sounds like a terrible breakfast: “bits on a chip on a server.” Kind of like some overcooked sausage chunks on stale toast that got knocked onto some poor waitresses’ uniform. ↩︎