Working Stiff

I have nothing to say of my working life,

only that a tie is a noose, and inverted though it is,

it will hang a man nonetheless if he's not careful.

                                                                 - Yann Martel, Life of Pi

Please don't forget what your real work is.  This world will try to convince you that your "job" is answering to others, doing tasks and fulfilling obligations.  You will certainly have responsibilities in this life, but the minute you believe the false notion that your responsibilities are your life, is the moment you become a working stiff.

Rigid, lifeless, a cog and a number.

If there is to be a "job" it is to keep focused on your art; that within you that only you have been gifted to give.  Be persistant in purusing it, be deliberate in displaying it, and never tie the tie too tightly.

Playing In the Mud

Don't blame others for your circumstance.  Don't blame the cosmos either.

You think this will help, but really it's just playing in the mud and pulling others in with you.

For a moment this will make you feel better about your situation but it will do nothing to change your perspective.  Instead of blaming others for your circumstance or shaking your fist at the heavens, try living into the opportunities that are placed before you each day.

It may not be what you wanted, but it is what you've got.

Getting out of bed means the day will have to begin.
Going to bed at night means having to relive this again soon.

Moving through the day in a sleep-haze gets it over quickly.
Insomnia at night buys more time until tomorrow's insanity arrives.

Longing not reached
Yearning not fulfilled
Passion not lived
Hope still elusive.

2nd Sunday of Advent

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.  The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him - the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord - and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. 

He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.  He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.  Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.

The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them.  The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox.  Infants will play near the hole of the cobra; young children will put their hands into the viper's nest.

They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious.

Isaiah 11:1-10

In The Future...

Post-it Note Doodle of what awaits us in the future.  How awesome will it be to have ion-beam shooting robots?  (Unless they are evil ion-beam shooting robots; then that wouldn't be so good).

What is your future doodle?

The "Ah-ha!" Moment

The "Ah-ha!" moment.

The "Light bulb going off" moment.

The "It just clicked" moment.

These break-through moments of clarity are what many of us hope to see happen in our work.  We want the epiphany to come so we can finally have our success.  Jealousy may even set in when we see others come into their moment with relative ease.

But please don't be fooled.

The "Ah-ha" moments are actually few and far-between in life (the rarity is what makes it such a marvelous spectical).  If you keep waiting for the "light bulb to go off" before you to get to work, your art will never be realized.  The "Ah-ha!" is only possible because of all the preceeding grunt work; that's what gives birth to its brilliance.

The visionary artist isn't someone who lives in a continual state of brilliant epiphany, they are the ones who are trudging through the darkness because they can't escape the gnawing, haunting feeling that 'something' lies ahead.

Your real work doesn't begin after the "Light switch went off", it began long before it; when the room was dark and it was impossible to see.

1st Sunday of Advent

He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples.  They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.  Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.  Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord.

Isaiah 2:4-5