Reflections
Looking for answers?
Try Google, the library, Siri.
This will get you started.
Then,
go down the rabbit’s hole-
fall in love with the
questions you find there.
Read books, write in journals, draw diagrams.
When the
answer finally
announces itself,
questions will be its
entourage.
And you begin again.
I read and read
until my eyes
bled:
tinkerers, poets, leaders, thinkers.
Their ideas, thoughts, hopes, dreams
played like unattended toddlers
in my head.
They left the place a mess.
My own thoughts muddled,
I must confess
Then, I began writing
and while
occasionally they still enjoy
throwing toys and biting,
they’ve become
mentors, coaches, friends
instead.
Who do you let into your
head?
Do they bring you alive
or make you feel
dead?
Do you choose them with care
or
do they show up unaware?
After you allow them space,
are they organized, assigned
or
allowed the run of the place?
Whether you choose
one way or the other,
these influences
matter.
from where do ideas come?
from everything you’ve ever
read,
heard,
watched,
or done;
from those who gave you birth,
to those whose spirit brought you to life.
this, your ever-growing genealogy
calls for curation,
needs time for gestation,
to create
who you’re going
to become.
I stole this.
This is not new (maybe improved).
Austin told me to.
This is not original (but it is from me).
I made this.
I hope you like it.
If you do, tell everyone.
If you don’t, tell no one.
—-
Today, I’m beginning a series that comes from reflections upon reading Austin Kleon’s books/art. Steal Like an Artist is first.
I made this (and everything that comes after). I hope you like it.
Meetings,
appointments,
and
errands
seem to be how we measure our days.
So everyone has a
busy schedule,
running to and fro.
“Busy” is the mantra
and
busy we stay.
However,
empathy,
care,
and
compassion
are easily overwhelmed
by the things
you try to
compress
into the day.
You may get a lot
done,
but you also feel a bit
undone
at the end of the day.
What would change if
instead of scheduling
to get more in,
you scheduled
to give more out?
To do this,
you’ll have to measure your days
differently,
and it will make
life, work, relationships
deeper, better,
not just
busy.
All at once,
it all comes.
All of it comes
all at once.
The good stuff --
extra opportunities,
new clients,
social invitations.
The not-so-good stuff --
rejections,
cancellations,
supposed failures.
Or so it seems.
Whenever
and
however
it comes,
drip by drip
or
firehose,
you must know
who you are
and
how to
stay focused
on who you are
and
where you are going.
Otherwise,
you’re just
overwhelmed
all at once
and
all the time.
When was the last time you asked,
“Will you help me with this?”
Asking for help
is not something
we do
well
or
often.
When we ask,
we make ourselves
vulnerable
and
open.
Not a place we usually
like to find ourselves.
Not a place our
lizard brain
wants us to be.
But,
if we’re going to continue
getting better,
we’re going to have to
get better at
asking for help.
In the dark corners of your mind,
you’ve been wondering.
While you’ve been
running around,
chasing down,
pushing forward,
you’ve not had a moment
to embrace the fact.
There IS
something more:
meaning,
purpose,
spirit,
connection.
But it’s not found
in what you’ve been doing:
busyness,
more,
distraction.
It’s first found in
quiet,
reflection,
silence.
And though some would like you
to think otherwise,
it is available to
everyone
for
free.
If you’re willing to
pay
the
price
of
stopping.
What you do today
is
more important
than
what you did
yesterday
or
what you
plan to do
tomorrow.
