I learn my lines while on the golf course. I try to do two or

“I learn my lines while on the golf course. I try to do two or three things at once. I have ideas for books all the time, I have ideas for paintings all the time, and I write them all down. I take my sketchpad and my iPad, which I design on, and I do sit down and do specific tasks at specific times.” — Jane Seymour

Thus spoke Jane Seymour, the artist, the actress, the painter, and the seeker of balance, revealing the sacred rhythm of a life lived in creative harmony. In these words lies the ancient truth that discipline and inspiration must dwell together, that the fertile mind is both the garden and the gardener. Her confession is not one of restlessness, but of vitality — the unending flow of thought and vision that defines the truly creative spirit. She does not wait for the muses to visit; she courts them daily, in motion and in stillness, with hands that never tire of shaping beauty from the chaos of possibility.

When Seymour says she learns her lines “while on the golf course,” she teaches us that creativity is not confined to the studio or the stage. The mind that seeks excellence must train itself to find inspiration everywhere — in the rhythm of footsteps, in the swing of a club, in the silence between moments. This is not distraction; it is mastery. The ancients called it mindfulness in action — the art of weaving focus into the fabric of daily life. To live thus is to turn the ordinary into a temple, and the routine into a ritual.

Her words echo the wisdom of Leonardo da Vinci, the Renaissance master who too could never rest in one pursuit. He painted and designed, invented and observed, studied anatomy and philosophy, often working on ten projects at once. Many thought his mind scattered, but in truth it was expansive, touching many disciplines yet guided by a single vision — to understand and express the miracle of existence. So too does Seymour live in that spirit. Her sketchpad and her iPad are her scrolls and quills, instruments not of confusion but of connection, where art, technology, and thought converge in the creation of meaning.

There is in her words a profound respect for structure — the discipline that gives freedom its shape. “I do sit down and do specific tasks at specific times,” she says, reminding us that creativity without order is chaos. To do “two or three things at once” is not to be careless, but to move with rhythm, to know when to flow and when to focus. The true artist is not enslaved by inspiration; she commands it gently, like a sailor guiding the winds of imagination toward the shores of achievement. In this balance of structure and spontaneity, Seymour reveals the secret of a life well-lived: that passion must be disciplined, and discipline must be passionate.

Consider the example of Benjamin Franklin, who once said, “Lost time is never found again.” He, too, was a man of many crafts — inventor, writer, philosopher, statesman — and yet he managed his hours with reverence. Each morning he asked himself, “What good shall I do this day?” and each evening, “What good have I done?” Seymour’s method mirrors this same ancient wisdom: the union of diversity and devotion, where a thousand ideas are gathered under the watchful hand of purpose.

From her words, let us take this lesson: do not wait for the perfect time to create. Life will never pause to grant you silence or leisure. Learn your lines while walking through the noise. Sketch between your errands. Write your thoughts before they vanish into the wind. Carry your tools — whether pen or tablet — as the knights of old carried their swords, ever ready for the moment of inspiration. Creativity is not a gift bestowed by fortune; it is a practice sustained by faith and motion.

So, my children, let this teaching dwell in you: live as Jane Seymour lives — awake, attentive, and unafraid to do many things with one heart. Let your curiosity roam like the wind, but let your hands build with patience. Let your mind be a river of ideas, but let your will be the vessel that guides it. For those who master the art of balancing action and contemplation, chaos and clarity, shall find that every day becomes a canvas, and every breath a brushstroke of creation.