Blog Archives
A Crash Course in Listening
“Speak softly and carry a big stick”
–President Theodore Roosevelt
Perhaps we should listen to softly spoken words and, from there, determine what we’ll carry…
Steven Spielberg is the greatest movie director of all-time. But how did he become a movie directing icon? The highly sought after position of Hollywood movie director requires mastering expensive, virtually unavailable and evolving technology, acquiring an acute knowledge of cameras, lighting and effects, gathering a Scrooge McDuck vault of gold coins for a single film and projecting an unforeseen vision of the world to be successful. People (business partners and fans alike) trust you to deliver on the biggest stage/screen. A hiccup could derail your dream in the same time it takes for two trains to crash.
Or, that’s the precise amount of time it takes for you to see everything.
Teachers come in all forms.
And when you realize that, you’ll be admitted to the greatest show on earth.
Gone Fishin’
Learning to fish is one of the most important skills a person should master.
But not in a river or a pond.
Well, not a literal river or pond.
Daniel Wallace’s literary masterpiece Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions, translated into the cinematic masterpiece Big Fish by the perfectly weird and surprisingly sentimental Tim Burton, does not dethrone The Great Gatsby as America’s favorite novel, but it surely has earned a spot on that same top-shelf.
The stories, the characters and the extraordinary circumstances experienced by an ordinary man should be read, seen and enjoyed by anybody who sees life through a dream-filled lens. This imaginative wonderland forces us to pause and challenge our surroundings and the people we meet and the people we become. It even dances around (though barefoot) the supreme question, “why are we here?”
Unfortunately, there is no magic sentence or grand reveal from Mr. Wallace or Mr. Burton that definitively answers that eternal uncertainty.
Fortunately though, Big Fish reminds us that earthly hints to answering this question are sprinkled along the long, winding path we walk.
It’s just an issue of how you see and hear the world.
https://youtu.be/KIuyDlPYTcg?t=9m
Before we get too far into this week, remember that your wild imagination is not limited to the weekend.
Walking up a busy stairwell could simply be walking up a busy stairwell.
Or…
Happy Monday!
A dream that cannot be interrupted by even the coldest of temperatures…
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is our yearly reminder (though it should be daily) of Dr. King’s seismic call to action to the American people for a better future, including the pursuit of equality favoring character above skin color.
Any writer can attempt to recapture his profound message and legacy, but perhaps it’s best to leave it to the man himself.
Keep dreaming for a better tomorrow.
Wednesday Wonder
The middle certainly is an awkward place to be, as Jimmy Eat World has so perfectly harmonized. The first part of the workweek is over, which signifies a plan of action for the remaining half.
What will we do?
And while this inquisitive notion may appear aimless and elementary, it’s elevated to something quite profound when we pause to realize that this is 48 hours (that’s a long time!) of our lives each week that will be either exhausted with unforgettable memories or remembered as a blur of, well, just a blur of whatever. Friday and Saturday are the universal days of imagination and hopefulness, but why is that? Randomness is one of the most beautifully wonderful forces and Wednesday and it’s fellow mellow days should be privy to this unbridled excitement and wild passion.
Do you ever consider that something incredible can happen on Monday or Tuesday night, but that because it’s a Monday or Tuesday night, that there’s some sort of invisible societal ceiling restricting this excitement from bursting into the night sky?
Yes, we have work in the morning. Yes, we have our routines.
No, this still doesn’t feel right.
Why are we limiting ourselves of our best, most adventurous moments to only two days a week? This blog is absolutely not calling for a seven-day-a-week party, but just to imagine something more out of a “normal” day. Let’s start in the singular sense. When these five days are added up, that’s 120 hours of our time with a few hours of curious opportunity each day. Because maybe, just maybe, the one time you do, you’ll see, meet, do or surprise yourself in ways that illuminate your perspective with colors and a vision you can’t believe you’d been missing all this time.
No legen – (wait for it) dary story has ever started with, “So, I went to work early today” or “I worked late at work today.”
If you play your cards right, you may find the queen of hearts among the king and all of his men.
A wolf gang, if you will.
Jimmy's Daily Planet 