There Is Only the Work

I’m writing this from northern Colombia, where the indigenous Kogi people have lived for centuries. The Kogi believe everything in the material world first exists in an invisible world called Aluna, which humans — especially their spiritual elders, the Mamas — are responsible for looking after. Before building, planting, or traveling, the Kogi first align their actions in thought so the material will follow the spiritual.

The Kogi warn that the modern world, with its focus on what is visible, is causing the Earth to unravel. They point to pollution, mining, and deforestation not only as environmental loss, but as violations of the hidden sacred threads that connect all things.

As an American, I feel this too: the cheap plastic packaging, the relentless concern with productivity, the algorithms that strip our attention. It feels like more than technology gone too far. It feels like a forgetting of what actually sustains us.

2,600 years ago, the Buddha also spoke of an invisible world, which he called the realm of intention. He taught that all we are begins with unseen thoughts that, like seeds, shape what grows in our lives. Bad intentions bring bad results, even in actions others might praise. Good intentions bring good results, even in times of difficulty.

For example, someone may go to the gym every day, but if the intention is self-hatred, the result is often injury, obsession, or emptiness. Conversely, sitting with an aging parent or a sick child may be exhausting, but when done with love and patience, it deepens bonds and brings meaning.

Every artist knows this. The role of the artist, like the Buddhist practitioner or the Kogi seer, is not the visible artifact — the book, the painting, the song — but the daily, invisible labor of attention, discipline, and imagination. This is why real art always resists shortcuts.

Don’t worry about how your life looks on paper, on social media, or in the eyes of others. Whatever you’re facing, tend to the invisible: your vision, your imagination, your moment-by-moment intentions. As Rumi says, “Don’t ask when you’re getting off work. Keep working. There is only the work.”