I started a blog roughly a year ago but because of some life changes I allowed to enter into my routine, it changed how I posted to you, my readers. I want you to know that I am in the process of changing that, beginning right now.
I have been putting some thought into the question of ,“Why?” Why write this blog? Why continue with my cartoons, podcasts or any of the numerous other reasons for having this website? A year ago, two years ago, the answer was very easy to say.
Self encouragement.
Sometimes you just have to pull yourself out of your own hole.
Then things changed. Environments changed, attitudes and schedules, my whole world changed. While I adapted to many of those things, something never occurred to me … when you change the course of the river, it is not only the WATER path that changes, the face of the LAND must change as well. If all of it does not shift in some way, shape or form, none of it not works.
Please forgive me, I got a little lost. Know that I am going to try to go back to a regular schedule of publishing several times a month about life and what I am learning, the good and the bad, the nice and the blunt. What I have discovered after sitting here thinking about this for the last several days is, the change to this blog is the answer to the question, “Why?” My response has been in front of me (and some of you) this whole time. It is written on my business card and on the front landing page of this site; “I don’t do my art to change the world, I do it so that the world will not change me.” I am proceeding with this blog because I want to. I will continue with my thoughts and my work for no one else but me. I owe no one anything and so THAT’S where I am going to start and continue …
… for me.
It is hard when something is so close yet, so far away.Old habits don’t go away as we would easily like sometimes.
So, here we go.
As of the writing of this article, I am in the heart of Central Florida in a home that is being decorated by my wife. She is the brains and organization of this project and I am just the braun and errand boy and sometimes the clean up crew.
I have never seen smoke come from a tape measure before.
I mainly try to stay out of her way. It’s fun to watch her work, don’t get me wrong, but at 1:00 am, staring at a blank wall trying to figure out a picture arrangement for what seems like an ETERNITY, I just feel there are OTHER things that I can find to do!
The other day I was sitting at the table working on a project and Shannon was not more than five feet away from me on a ladder a few rungs up. There are times, I have found, that she does some of her best thinking this way, holding on to the side of the ladder, measuring with a tape, scribbling one-handed notes, measuring again, more ideas, more notes. Repeat as necessary. It was at that moment, when I was most engulfed in my screen, when wheels were moving in sync, the engine was firing on all cylinders, all seemed right in the world …
“WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!” In one second I was crashing OUT of my creative coma, teeth jarred, head twitched, hands and fingers jolting across a keyboard and ears ringing like the bells of a church. It was as if I was at the world’s biggest Fourth of July celebration with explosions all around me, unfortunately, with all of that, I saw the idea in my head slowly wave goodbye and fade into nothingness as sure as “Bing Bong the Elephant” from Disney’s animated movie, “Inside Out,” and it was just as emotional too.
It was at this moment that I noticed a minor stream of sheet rock dust descending on my head and work space from a small amount of what used to be a section of wall, that was now occupied by a new wall anchor, curtain rod and drapery. This dust and debris lightly coated the table, my work space, computer, shoulders and after inspection, the bald spot on the top of my head!
I looked up to find my wife slowly descending her ladder and as she did, with tools still in hand, she said in a matter-of-fact way, “Wow, you’re filthy. As long as I am working here, why don’t you take your tablet and ‘mole hill’ and head out back, and I’ll join you when I’m finished.”
I assure you there are NO words, no pithy comebacks, not one syllable in the English language that came to mind in that moment to help me cope with the emotions I was dealing with at that second. So I found myself doing what every other red-blooded, American husband of a creative would do, in knee-jerk response I started nodding in compliance and then, as if in perfect timing of a well choreographed dance move, on their own, my feet started to shuffle in the direction to the back porch!
While this story is SLIGHTLY embellished, it does get me to thinking, “How do I deal with problems?” What is the best way when the world “dumps” something into my lap to cope with, and more importantly, how do I go about dealing with surprise problems?
“… how do I go about dealing with surprise problems?”
Just Know That Into Every Life, Chaos Is Going To Happen
Let me just put this plainly; life is going to happen, drama will happen to everyone, stuff is gonna fall! Cars won’t start, jobs may change, finances will make you feel defeated. It is part of life, painful at times, even heart breaking but, a thought for you to consider … as long as things are still happening to you, YOU ARE STILL HAPPENING! There is still hope for you yet.
You may not know exactly WHERE it’s coming from but, things WILL fall on you sooner or later!
Don’t Just Leave It Lying Around
The next thing in your journey is, don’t just ignore your problem or leave it where it falls; it’s not going to fix itself. It needs to be addressed, it needs to be evaluated, it needs to be assessed. Look at it and mentally “sweep it up.” Collect it into a manageable pile so that while it may not be fun to go through, it is more manageable by you. Get the information on the problem, the TRUE information; find out the actual size of the problem. Can things be rearranged? Is all of this problem YOUR issue to deal with? Are there other steps that need to be done before you can address your issue? It is painful when finding out the answer to some of those questions but knowing is advantageous.
NOTHING is completed until you clean up the junk.
Don’t Just Leave It THERE, Find A Receptacle For It
Many years ago, while in rehab, I learned that it’s not just enough to admit there is a problem, you must take action to correct the problem. You can’t just “leave it there, it’ll get in the way of something else!” You must take care of your own issues so it does not affect others, you have to see them to the end so that it clears your path, nobody else can do it for you.
It’s not enough that you sweep up problems into an organized pile, you have got to take it to the trash!
It’s Not Enough That You Clean It Up, You Must Dispose Of It Too!
You must dispose of the issue, you must finish it. You must get it to a place where all parties involved agree on its completion and resolution. You must complete its journey. It is only there that HEALING for the loss can take place, whether its an unpaid bill or the loss of a loved one, every loss needs a time for healing. So, take that junk to the curb and get rid of it! Sitting there rehashing it is not going to change anything. I know it can hurt, but be strong here you will thank yourself later.
Once you have dumped what does not help you, you have got to LEAVE it and WALK AWAY from it.
As for me, I did fix my problem with the hammering and sheetrock dust…
