Arthur Russell is very important to me on many levels, and when I

In the age of noise and endless revision, there arose an artist of courage and spirit named Arca, whose music burns with raw emotion and divine unpredictability. She spoke of her guiding light, saying: “Arthur Russell is very important to me on many levels, and when I read Tim Lawrence's biography on him, ‘Hold on to Your Dreams,’ one of the things I took away was: first thought, best thought. I live by that when I make my own music.” These words, though born from the world of sound, carry the timeless essence of creation itself — the ancient truth that the first spark of inspiration, pure and unguarded, is often closest to the soul of the divine.

The origin of this wisdom traces back to Arthur Russell, a composer and visionary whose heart beat between worlds — between classical and disco, the spiritual and the mundane. He sought not perfection but honesty, not structure but revelation. His friend and biographer captured this way of being: to trust the first thought, to embrace it before fear and intellect could dilute its power. Arca, inheritor of this philosophy, took that principle into her own alchemy, shaping sound with spontaneity and faith. In doing so, she echoes a lineage that reaches far beyond music — into the art of living itself.

To live by “first thought, best thought” is to honor the flame before the mind smothers it with reason. It is to act as the poet does when he first glimpses the line in his heart, before the critic within awakes. It is to listen to the whisper of intuition, that ancient voice that speaks softly but truly. In the making of art — and in the shaping of one’s destiny — hesitation is often the death of the sacred. The first thought arises like dawn; it is fresh, uncorrupted, and wild. To trust it is to walk hand in hand with creation itself.

Remember the tale of Michelangelo, who, when asked how he carved David, said he merely removed the stone that was not David. His first vision of the form was already complete within his mind; his task was only to free it. So too with the artist, the thinker, the lover — their first impulse is the truth, and all that follows is the chisel’s work. How many masterpieces have been lost to overthinking, how many dreams smothered beneath the weight of doubt? The ancients knew that when the muse descends, one must obey without delay.

But this teaching is not only for artists — it is for all who seek authenticity in a world of noise. When you are faced with a choice, when your heart stirs before your mind begins its reasoning, pay heed to that first thought. It is the echo of your truest self, the self unburdened by fear of judgment or failure. The more you train yourself to trust it, the stronger it becomes. In time, your life itself becomes an act of improvisation — not chaos, but harmony with the unseen rhythm of your spirit.

And yet, Arca’s wisdom carries courage, for to live this way is not to live safely. The first thought is often strange, fragile, or bold. It demands vulnerability, the willingness to be misunderstood. Arthur Russell himself suffered for his refusal to conform, dying before his genius was fully recognized. Yet his art remains eternal because it was true. He did not polish his soul until it gleamed; he let it breathe, tremble, and shine as it was. That is the cost of living honestly — but also the reward.

So, my children of the future, take this counsel: when the spark comes, seize it. When the idea flashes, write it. When the melody hums within you, sing it before doubt takes the tune away. Do not wait for permission from perfection. Let your first thought guide your path, for it comes not from logic but from the deep well of life itself. To live by this is to live with integrity — unguarded, spontaneous, and alive. As Arca and Russell both knew, the divine does not linger for the hesitant. It visits only those who dare to listen — and to trust — the voice that speaks first from the heart.