Late for work? Actually just cba? Been left on read? We paired some of Ono’s most motivational tweets with real-life situations
On April 18th, Yoko Ono tweeted “The tremendous curiosity I have for life is what is sustaining me. I feel I want to know more, and I know I will. Life is amazing, isn’t it?” It was another life-affirming addition to the 85-year-old artist’s timeline, which Ono has been filling with motivational tweets for the past few years.
In the physical world this past February, Ono opened her three-part installation at the Gardiner Museum in Canada, titled The Riverbed – the show’s third iteration, having originally premiered in New York in 2015. At its core, The Riverbed is about healing.
Set over three stages, the participatory show invites visitors to first hold stones with words such as “dream”, “wish”, and “remember” carved into them. Then they are encouraged to draw lines in notebooks that will take them “to the farthest places” on Earth. Lastly, they are asked to mend broken teacups and saucers with tape, string, and glue, before immersing them back to the show itself – a recurring activity which Ono began incorporating into her work after 9/11, firstly with “Mend Piece For The World”.
Considered one of the pioneers of conceptual art – which places emphasis on meaning rather than aesthetics – Ono has been using instructions in her works for close to six decades. Born in 1933 in Tokyo – moving to New York in the mid-50s – one of Ono’s first exhibited works was “Painting to Be Stepped On” (1960-61), which told visitors to trample on it, either physically or from within their minds. Four years later, Ono published Grapefruit – a compilation of 150 commands, such as, "Carry a bag of peas. Leave a pea wherever you go”, or more simply, “Fly”.
Other notable artworks, such as “Cut Piece” (1965), saw Ono invite participants to cut strips off of her clothing while she sat motionless on the stage at New York’s Carnegie Recital Hall. More recently, she published Acorn, a follow up to Grapefruit which picked up where “it left off”, albeit 50 years later.
However, it’s in recent times that Ono has created somewhat of an archive of self-help-type tweets, which she posts almost daily. In order to make this Monday a little easier, we utilise the best bits of advice as a guide to dealing with all the obstacles that life might throw in your way this week.
WHEN YOU REALLY CBA TO LEAVE THE HOUSE
If you are an introvert, that's not bad at all. Do work you cannot do when you have too many people around you. All writers wrote their books when they were alone. When you go to a bookshop and see the books on the shelves, think of the loneliness they used for their benefit.
— Yoko Ono (@yokoono) March 20, 2018
WHEN YOU’VE HAD AN EMOSH WEEK
Crying is an excellent way of bringing balance and health to your mind and body. Keep crying.
— Yoko Ono (@yokoono) March 10, 2018
WHEN YOU COME FACE TO FACE WITH A WORLD LEADER
Let's work together on making this world less violent and less polluted.
— Yoko Ono (@yokoono) March 15, 2018
WHEN PAYDAY IS TWO WEEKS AWAY AND YOU’RE ALREADY BROKE AF
Think of something more important than money in your life. Take care of that thing.
— Yoko Ono (@yokoono) March 11, 2018
WHEN BECKY COMES AROUND
Somebody being unpleasant to you is there to make you think.
— Yoko Ono (@yokoono) February 26, 2018
WHEN IT FEELS LIKE WINTER WILL NEVER END
Breathe deeply and tell yourself that you will survive. Move on. Spring is coming.
— Yoko Ono (@yokoono) April 16, 2018
WHEN YOU’RE LATE TO WORK AND YOUR BOSS ASKS WHY
Time is a man made concept. Therefore, 'when' is not a relevant thing to think about. Just know that it will happen, yesterday or tomorrow.
— Yoko Ono (@yokoono) February 23, 2018
WHEN YOU GET OVER THINGS REAL QUICK
Getting motivated doesn't mean that you should stick to it. Just let it go if you find something better. Life is too short to limit yourself to what you were motivated to do for a moment.
— Yoko Ono (@yokoono) January 18, 2018
WHEN YOU DON’T GET YOUR WAY
It's yes if you make it yes.
— Yoko Ono (@yokoono) April 1, 2018
WHEN YOU TAKE AN EXTRA HOUR FOR LUNCH
The meaning of life is in what I am doing now - enjoying the day.
— Yoko Ono (@yokoono) March 25, 2018
WHEN THEY LEAVE YOU ON READ AND YOU’RE ABOUT TO LOSE YOUR SHIT
If you send a sweet message, you will get sweet messages back tenfold. If you give out anger, you will get anger back tenfold. So just be careful. You are communicating more than you think.
— Yoko Ono (@yokoono) December 25, 2017
Thanks, Yoko :')