Four
I had been trying to write a post every day, and had been having some difficulty. Plus, I had been shortchanging the opportunity to create something new, and had been rehashing things that had been done before.
So I am calling it quits.
Not for good, and not even for long, but I am taking down the goal of writing a post per day. Instead my goal will be one per week, and if I don't get to that, oh well.
So, four things I want to leave you with as I head off to go for a long walk...
1. Be Yourself
Be you. You're the only one who can be.
So many times we have so many expectations of ourselves, from inside our own heads and outside our bodies. Expectations that make us feel that we can't just be ourselves.
I started this blog as a way to be more myself. I haven't achieved it fully yet, but I am well on my way.
2. Dig Deep
Explore what you are learning about thoroughly. Follow the tangents that arise. Drink deep from the knowledge of what you are trying to learn.
Call upon your resources. Follow your instincts. Renegotiate your contracts with yourself when necessary.
Digging deep is not something I thought I would discover while working on this blog, but during the course of my life, and while writing, I have learned to dig deeper than I have before.
3. Express Yourself
Create something that reflects who you are and what you believe.
Stand behind what you make, whether or not you agree with it the next day. Expression of your inner being is what we are looking for. We may not always get it right. Express yourself anyway.
I have learned that I need to learn. What I mean to say is, I have work to do in this area, in learning to express myself fully and completely in a way others can understand.
This blog is an expression of myself, as convoluted and nonsensical as I can be.
4. Share
It doesn't have to be online, it doesn't have to be social media, but sharing is an important aspect of being yourself, digging deep, and expressing yourself.
I am not really sure the ultimate goals of sharing, and maybe there really isn't a goal for yourself, it's more like a fulfillment for someone else.
Yes. That's it.
It's an opportunity to give. To give back, to give up, to give, period.
So share.
Peace.
Happy Thanksgiving (Or To One and To All, Thank You for Being Yourself)
Ahem.
Good morning. Good afternoon. Good evening. Good night.
I want to take a moment to say something.
A little boy once stood on the bank of a creek and listened to the water rushing through the rocks. He marveled at the way the water turned and rippled and twisted among the woods and imagined how that little creek led out to a larger stream, then to a larger river, and eventually to the largest of oceans. He liked to imagine how small things can grow into large things, this little boy. He liked to picture himself as an insignificant little dot in the middle of the universe.
The little boy closed his eyes and listened to the water.
The water was telling him something.
So he listened.
A little girl once stood by the ocean and listened to the waves crashing on the shore. She wondered at the way something so light, so refreshing, so calm, could come crashing down so hard onto the sand. She marveled at how large the ocean was. For all the staring and looking that she did toward the horizon, she could not see the end of the water. But she thought about the beginning of it. Starting as snow or rain in the mountains, the small creeks turning into larger streams, and ever larger rivers and building in size and strength and tumbling and boiling their way into the mighty ocean that stood before her. She liked to understand the beginnings and the endings of things, this little girl. She liked to picture herself as an insignificant little dot in the middle of the universe.
The little girl closed her eyes and listened to the water.
The water was telling her something.
So she listened.
Yes, I'm talking to you.
Thank you.
I want to stare into your soul and have you stare back into mine, and once we truly see each other, maybe we can find a way to join together.
Thank you for being the person that you are.
I have said it before, but I want to say it in a way that allows it to truly sink in.
I want to tell you something that you will never forget.
I want to tell you something that you will never forget.
But first, let me tell you a story: a story about a boy and a girl.
A little boy once stood on the bank of a creek and listened to the water rushing through the rocks. He marveled at the way the water turned and rippled and twisted among the woods and imagined how that little creek led out to a larger stream, then to a larger river, and eventually to the largest of oceans. He liked to imagine how small things can grow into large things, this little boy. He liked to picture himself as an insignificant little dot in the middle of the universe.
The little boy closed his eyes and listened to the water.
The water was telling him something.
So he listened.
A little girl once stood by the ocean and listened to the waves crashing on the shore. She wondered at the way something so light, so refreshing, so calm, could come crashing down so hard onto the sand. She marveled at how large the ocean was. For all the staring and looking that she did toward the horizon, she could not see the end of the water. But she thought about the beginning of it. Starting as snow or rain in the mountains, the small creeks turning into larger streams, and ever larger rivers and building in size and strength and tumbling and boiling their way into the mighty ocean that stood before her. She liked to understand the beginnings and the endings of things, this little girl. She liked to picture herself as an insignificant little dot in the middle of the universe.
The little girl closed her eyes and listened to the water.
The water was telling her something.
So she listened.
Be yourself.
Thank you.
Thank you for being you.
Thank you.
Not for what you have done for me, in the past or lately, but just for being you.
Every time I wonder how I can go on, you make me laugh.
The way you express yourself in the simplest of moments makes me smile, inside and out.
Sometimes things get you down. Sometimes things come up that bring down your energy and your happiness. But you know how to move on. You know how to deal with the situation effectively, and move on.
So thank you for being yourself.
I want to see more of who you are, all the time, whenever I can.
I want to stare into your soul and have you stare back into mine, and once we truly see each other, maybe we can find a way to join together.
Maybe we can find a way to become one, and flow like water.
Like the creek.
Like the streams.
Like the rivers.
Roiling and rolling and twisting and winding our way to the ocean.
Like the creek.
Like the streams.
Like the rivers.
Roiling and rolling and twisting and winding our way to the ocean.
Thank you for being you.
Thank you for being the person that you are.
Thank you for your laughter.
Thank you for smiling.
Thank you for the beauty that you contain, both inside and out.
Be you, my love.
Let yourself flow.
And together we will make it, hand in hand, to the ocean.
Let yourself flow.
And together we will make it, hand in hand, to the ocean.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Something New
Something new to start the day. Something new to get off the ground.
A fresh change is an opportunity to start something new. A fresh change moves things in a new direction.
What is a fresh change? When one starts something new.
What makes it fresh? The opportunity to build the new. I realize that the only way to make the change is to focus all my energy on building the new. That is what I am here for, that is what I am determined to do.
What I want to do is build the new. And the new that I want to build has mostly to do with this blog, but also has to do with some books I want to write. I want to create something profound and helpful.
What could I create that would be profound and helpful? Really I want to create something profoundly helpful. What could I create that would fit that mold?
I don't really know. What I do know is that it could be helpful to many people, if I can get myself to take the necessary action. The only way I could create something like that is if I truly work at it, quite hard, over the course of many months and years.
That is what I am doing in here right now.
Though I do get distracted. Now and again, I do get distracted. And once I am distracted, I may fall into doing something that takes a good portion of my time.
But the only thing to do, once I realize I have been distracted, is to redouble my efforts at creating. And creating is what I am here for. Writing something that is profoundly helpful is why I came.
The best way to be oneself is to know yourself and make something happen that you can make happen.
What I need to be doing is doing.
Taking action, like I am right now by writing in this place. I am learning and taking action, two wonderful things.
I am learning and taking action on what I want to take action on.
It is time for me to grab the bull by the horns and mold my life into that which I desire.
It is time for me to be most crucially and completely myself.
The only way I can be myself is by expressing myself through writing, art, and music.
I will have to go out on a limb and make something happen that is productive and capable and worthwhile.
I will have to do something productive.
I will have to share as much as I possibly can about myself. I will have to do that which I am afraid to do.
That is my goal. To create all the content that I can, and that it be valuable content that will be readily shared with others.
My goal is to create an entire universe based on the desire and ability to be completely yourself in any situation. Completely myself in every situation.
What is this obsession, this passion, for being myself? Where did it come from?
The passion to pursue myself as a holistic and heartfelt being came from my core, came from my being.
I realize now what it is that I am up against.
I am not up against others, this is a battle of man vs. himself. I don't know who will win. I cannot predict the future.
What I can do, is say that I am learning.
What will matter is how it is written, and how it is perceived. If I write from my being, I can't go wrong. But if I write from someplace else, I can go wrong.
So back to the subject at hand... something new.
That is what this is. This is something new.
So how can I make it make sense and be helpful instead? What can I do about it?
I can focus. That is for sure. I can focus on that which I need to actually accomplish.
And I can continually try to share something new.
"I've Looked at Life from Both Sides Now"
Recommended Listening:
A few words come to mind when I think of looking at things in different ways.
Perspective.
View point.
Perception.
Understanding.
Empathy.
These things make up how I assemble my reality.
And like Joni Mitchell and so many others, I have looked at life from both sides now.
I have seen the world through my own eyes, and I have tried to see the world through others'.
With empathy and imagination we are able to try to understand what life is like for someone else.
But we don't ever really walk in their shoes.
We will never know the consciousness of another person.
We can only empathize with the signs and symptoms of living.
But sometimes that, along with listening intently and understanding, is enough.
Just to listen and empathize does not mean to agree. Empathy and understanding do not imply agreement. But at the same time, these things bring us together, despite our differences.
Just as there is an asymptote toward perfection, there is also one toward understanding and learning.
We can go deeper and farther, but we will never. ever. reach the bottom.
"I really don't know life at all." - Joni Mitchell
And I wouldn't have it any other way.
Worry Less
I am talking about worry a little bit. I guess I am talking about the worry that we have before or when we make a decision, the worry that things won't turn out as we expect or hope.
But worrying doesn't do anyone any good.
What is necessary is that we look at things realistically. Having a realistic outlook helps us make informed and correct decisions. But does worry play into that at all? Does worry inform reality?
Worry is a form of fear based on what the future MAY hold. It is not certain that the future will hold anything, and we cannot predict the future any more than we can erase the past.
Something happened.
So be it.
Something may happen.
So be it.
What does worrying do for us?
I suppose it can help us to think of the negative consequences of our actions and decisions. It helps us to problem solve in the moment of action or decision.
But once the decision or action is carried out, is there any more use to worrying?
I think that kind of worrying only serves to bring us down.
So worry less.
Make more.
Share more.
Be more.
Be you.
Take Action
Remove the emotions standing in the way of taking action.
The emotions surrounding a task may involve not wanting to do something, or feeling "not in the mood." This is a form of self-created struggle that need not be the case.
What I can do instead is push past these emotions and just get to doing what needs to be done. What needs to be done right now is that I write this post.
Perfection and the desire to achieve it stand in the way of making progress in some areas. There is no such thing as something perfect. There is only what is. What could be and what should be are only figments of the imagination. Only what is matters.
I must stay focused on what it is that I have set out to do. Don't take many small breaks, take larger ones, after having put in some long focused time on creating something that I want to create.
All I have to do is take action. Get things moving, start things up, get the ball rolling, set the fat to jiggling. That is all it takes. Initiative. Exercise.
I am creating something that I feel is worth creating. I am writing what I feel (at this time) needs to be written. I am focusing my energies on what I think is required of me.
And so, taking action is the best course of action.
Thoughts and emotions don't get anything accomplished in the real world.
"Like so many brilliant people, he believes that ideas move mountains. But bulldozers move mountains; ideas show the bulldozers where to work." - Peter F. Drucker
What is right action? It is merely the appropriate response to a stimulus. It is nothing more or less moral compared to other responses.
I am interested in all sorts of things. I am mostly interested in what it takes to take action right now though. And what it takes to take action is a little energy. I here to for had not had very much energy, but now that I am waking up and going for a short walk, I find that I have much more energy than I expected.
What gives energy then? Taking action. By taking action I actually have more energy to take more action.
There is an inspirational book called The Action Principles, written by Bill Fitzpatrick, based on his extensive learning in the martial arts. I read most of those action principles and at one point tried to apply at least a couple of them to my life. But obviously I never really got the hang of them. Because I still don't take all the action that I need to take. I still don't do all the things that I need to do. I still don't take the actions that I need to take in every situation.
I listened to a podcast this morning interviewing David K. Reynolds, the author of Constructive Living. He said that the book Constructive Living was written to help people be ordinary. I have no problem being ordinary, but part of me thinks that if I improve myself continually in the ways in which I want to that I will be either extraordinarily good or extraordinarily bad. I am not sure which it will end up with, but that is what seems to be the case.
Remove the emotions standing in the way of taking action.
But at the same time, I don't think it is possible to remove emotions, so what can one do? Minimize the emotions? Move past the emotions? Take action in spite of the emotional state we are in?
All of the above.
Regardless, take action.
Lifelong Learning
Learning how to learn is the most valuable skill that we can acquire. Learning how to learn is something that once learned, can teach us for the rest of our lives.
Learn to learn. How do you learn?
First start with learning to read. If you can read, and read quickly and comprehend well what has been read, then you can teach yourself almost anything. For almost any skill, a book has already been written on how to do it, and most times there are multiple books on the subject.
If you can read these books and comprehend and apply their concepts, you will be able to learn how to do that skill.
But nothing can replace doing. Nothing can replace application.
You can have knowledge of how to fish, but until you actually go out to the stream and use the fishing rod, you will not be applying your knowledge, which constitutes learning.
I am dedicated to learning for the rest of my life.
I am dedicated to improving my base of knowledge, my ability to synthesize ideas, and the general improvement of my mind.
How will you teach yourself how to learn?
How will you continue to learn for the rest of your life?
What I Want Out of Life
I started this post a while ago, and it didn't quite seem like the time to post it just yet. Now is the time, I suppose.
This post states what I want out of life.
First though, let me say that I already have a lot.
I have a loving family, amazing kids, a wonderful wife, an amazing extended family, and generally speaking a whole lot of love. I have a great job, a career I can grow into, money to pay the bills, a wonderful home, and two cars that run like champs.
I have more than I could ever ask for, to be honest.
Maybe I don't need to write this post after all...
It's the season of Thanksgiving. I have a whole hell of a lot to be thankful for.
Some of those things I am thankful for are listed above. Others are larger. Like the opportunity to wake up today. Others are smaller. Like the feeling I have when I take a deep breath of fresh air. And then there are all the things in between all the highlights and the low-lights of living life on this planet.
I am truly grateful for each moment I have the opportunity to be alive.
So, I am truly grateful for everything.
Being grateful doesn't mean I cannot strive for more.
I have decided a few things lately. I have started to define what it is that I want from my life, that I don't already have.
They are simple but large things, and there are only four.
1. I want to make a living from my creative activity.
2. I want to be physically fit and healthy.
3. I want to be completely debt free.
4. I want to own a beach house.
Those are the four things that I want out of life, that I don't already have. If I never accomplished any of them, I would still lead a good and satisfying life. But why not go for the gold? Why not try and get that which I may be able to attain? Why not set goals and work toward them?
In coming up with reasons for why I should improve myself, I still have only one: because I can.
The only reason that I want to improve myself is because I can.
Eventually, I will need to have a more passionate and energetic reason behind self-improvement. But for now, just that one reason will suffice.
What are the things that you are grateful for?
What are the things that you are striving for?
Now What? A Peek at What's Next
Now what?
I have made some changes, and now what? Now what do I need to do?
I need to write more. I need to share more. I need to create more. That is what I need to do.
And that is what I am doing right now.
I am constantly on the lookout for distractions. I find and embrace them. That is what I do.
But right now I am not going to be distracted.
Above there is a picture of something peeking above the horizon, showing itself, just a little bit, and working to reveal itself more and more.
That is what I am doing as well, working to reveal myself more and more.
I am uncovering new things and beliefs about myself, and I will be sharing them here.
One thing I have learned is that I am a creature of habit. And so I am trying to change some of my habits. I am learning that some of my existing habits are not good for me, and that I need to change.
I need to change.
I must change.
Getting to "must change" can be a long, long road. But that is where the action happens. Nothing happens when we might change, or could change, or god forbid, should change. Must change makes it happen.
Or not.
Just because I must change doesn't mean that I am going to.
But I do have a better shot at it. I have the potential to change now.
I had an earlier post about potential that showed that I am more interested in what actually happens as opposed to what could happen.
I still believe that. I still believe that what actually happens is more revealing, more telling, than what could happen. Especially what could happen and doesn't.
But it remains the truth that I now have the potential to change, at least more so before I arrived at the must change state.
There is a lot riding on this now, the fact that I need to and want to and can and must change.
What would happen if I don't make the changes that I seek in my life?
Deterioration.
What would happen if I do make the changes that I seek in my life?
Growth.
And so I will change, and continue to change as long as necessary, from now until I die.
Dig a Well
Dig a well.
Find your source.
Take action.
Resign yourself to accept those things you cannot change.
Change the things you can.
Do not conserve your energy. What are you saving it for?
Be the person you are. Embrace yourself fully.
Complete what you set out to do. Make sure your heart is in it.
Like yourself more and more each day.
Take a chance. Take a chance on yourself. Bet that you will succeed.
There is always some bit of strength left at the end of the day. Use it up.
Leave everything on the table.
Put yourself into the work you do.
Commit.
Dig a well.
Find your source.
Take action.
Resign yourself to accept those things you cannot change.
Change the things you can.
Do not conserve your energy. What are you saving it for?
Be the person you are. Embrace yourself fully.
Complete what you set out to do. Make sure your heart is in it.
Like yourself more and more each day.
There will be no later, there was no then, there is only now.
"There's another train. There always is." - The Poozies
Take a chance. Take a chance on yourself. Bet that you will succeed.
There is always some bit of strength left at the end of the day. Use it up.
Leave everything on the table.
Put yourself into the work you do.
Commit.
Dig a well.
Holding Back, Fear, Sharing, and Risk
I am going to try to write online instead of in my journals as much as possible.
What that is going to mean for you, the reader, is that there will be a decent amount of nonsense in the content. I will try to edit out as much of it as possible, but it will still come through.
What else that will mean for you, the reader, is that there will be more: much more writing, much more art, much more sharing and posting... If I can overcome the fear. If I can fear less.
The more I write online, the more I will share, because I will be bypassing a secondary filter I had established by putting my innermost thoughts in the physical pen and paper journal, as opposed to online.
I find that writing sessions come in fits and starts. But really, once I get started, the writing flows.
So, the more often I am able to put together a string of writing sessions, the better.
In some ways I have been holding back in my online writing. I have been afraid to be my complete self online in my writing. Why is that?
Well, there are many reasons.
I am afraid....
I will say something I don't mean
I will say something incorrect
I will make a mistake
I will share too much of myself
I will offend someone
I will limit myself
I won't know when to stop
I will get caught up in drama
I will get caught up in comments
I will get caught up in general
I won't make the time to create
I won't recover
I will be laughed at
These are some of my fears. Not all of them, but some of them.
But I have realized that I need to push past my fears and embrace who I naturally am. I need to be okay with who I am, faults, foibles and all, and get on doing the work I am destined to do.
I feel I am determined and destined to write as much as possible about myself and my life. I want to share myself with others. I want others to be able to learn something from my life. And the only way that others can learn from my life is if I share myself completely.
Do I know who I am completely enough to share myself fully? Probably not. So we will learn and grow together.
As you move through this journey of life, so will I, and we will hopefully share things with each other that prove to be useful and fruitful.
I am a frightened and scared individual, so afraid to make a mistake, that I take hardly any risk.
Well, this is the risk I am taking, to share that I am a frightened person, scared to take a risk. Perhaps I will take more risks as time moves along, and as I learn and grow as an individual.
For example...
I am afraid to quit smoking because I don't remember how I got along without cigarettes before I started smoking. I think I enjoyed my life a little more without cigarettes, but I really don't remember.
The only way I will be able to confirm that I enjoy life without cigarettes more than life with cigarettes, is to live a life without cigarettes. I must commit to that.
But I am afraid. I am afraid I will not be able to cope with the day if I don't have cigarettes to help get me through.
That is something I need to face, and that fear in particular is one I need to overcome.
I have taken the risk. There is a lot for me to learn. There is a lot that I am still learning. But mostly, I am still afraid. But I am taking action against my fears, trying to do and be better as I go along.
I can learn much by creating and sharing. I can learn about myself and about my own fears and issues surrounding fear.
Do we ever really avoid or eliminate the fear?
I am afraid. You might be afraid too. It is okay. We can be afraid together. And maybe we can figure out how to become courageous together as well.
The road to success is paved with potholes. Sometimes you miss them, sometimes you hit them. Either way, keep moving forward, keep traveling down that road.
Don't hold back.
Be fearless.
Share yourself.
Take the risk.
Enter the fray.
Start today.
This is where it all began.
This is where I began to be myself.
Completely and totally myself. Without care or worry of repercussions.
I am interested in becoming myself completely. I am interested in being myself completely.
And the funny thing is, I am succeeding.
I just want to create, I just want to make something all my own, on my own, for no real reason other than I can, and I need to express myself.
So now I am writing this, and I am trying to summon the feeling of being inspired to create something new. The feeling is there, that is for sure.
Inspiration comes to those who don't wait for it.
So where am I heading? What is my end game result that I am looking for?
I can do almost anything. I have the ability. But the only thing I want to do is to make stuff and share it. That is what I want to do with my life. Make things and share them. By being myself, by sharing my essence with the world I am able to even more fully become myself.
It is all a matter of three ingredients: time, energy, and focus. I have plenty of all three, enough to make something magical happen in my life.
It is really just a matter of time until I achieve my goals. I know what I want and I am starting to make it happen. It may take a long time, in fact it may take forever, but I have forever to wait if necessary, to allow myself to be completely and totally myself in all situations and interactions.
I have to not be afraid. I have to be courageous.
It is an important step for me to know that being myself is acceptable. Being myself is okay. Being myself is desired. Being myself is the only way I will be able to learn and let the right things go, and hold on to those which I cherish.
I know what to do.
I know how to do it.
I know what to think and be.
Myself.
My own version of my own person.
But this is where it starts. This is the beginning.
This is where it all began.
Where did it start for you?
Where were you when you started to bloom?
Do you remember? Can you remember where and when it all began for you?
"You Can't Get Out Backwards"
"Oh, you can't get out backwards. Gotta go forwards to go back. Better press on." - Willy Wonka
The Secret of Change: Some Words of Encouragement
"The secret of change is to focus all your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new." - Dan Millman (Socrates)Do you want to change? Must you change? Focus then. Not on the past, but on the present and your dream of the future. Focus singularly on the tasks you have before you that will build the stepping stones to get you to where you want to be.
Keep doing that which makes you different. Not different from others, but different from the old you, different from who you used to be in the past, who you no longer are.
Keep building on the new you. Keep forging forward in the face of the onslaught of pressure to keep the status quo. There is no same, there is always a difference, and you are it.
Become that which you want to be. Embrace the changes that come with all the energy you expend on being who you truly are.
Do not look back. Move forward. Step sure-footed in the direction of your destiny. You may misstep, but you will learn from your mistake and correct your path.
"Be the change that you wish to see in the world." - Mahatma Ghandi
Embody change. Become a changeling. Become a change ninja, able to adapt with the shifting of the wind, able to overcome your own limitations.
Embrace the new. Reach out and touch the future through the present. You are here, and now is the time. NOW is the time!
"One reason people resist change is because they focus on what they have to give up, instead of what they have to gain." - Rick Godwin
What will change bring? Differences. Variety. Spice. Something new. Something unexpected.
Are you ready for change?
How can you ever be prepared for actions whose results you cannot predict?
Just be ready to be ready. Because change is coming. And you are going to bring it. You are going to bring the house.
So build the new. Build what you need to build. Make what you need to make. No one else is coming along to do it for you. It all lies with you.
"When we break, we'll wait for our miracle, God is a place you will wait for the rest of your life." - Jeff Mangum
Become the person you were born to be. Only you know who that is. Only you get to decide who you are. Make and become that person.
You are a winner. You are a changeling. You are the sum and more of all your internal changes, and you are getting ready to explode into full bloom. Be there for your show, as you display the new you.
The secret of change is not a secret at all. Go out and make the changes you need to make. Become the person you are meant to be, whoever that might be.
Who I Am and What I Am About
Inspired by a question I was recently asked to define myself, and by Mighty Oak Barbell's video, I have decided to delimit and describe who I am, and what I am about. The word delimit is used on purpose, because I have thought through most of my life, that by defining myself, I would be limiting any possibilities. Choosing one path prevents us from walking another. And so many times, I have not decided on a path to take, and yet, that is choosing a path as well. And who is to say we can't alter or change our direction once we have made a decision in life? It is a learning and growing process. This is...
Who I Am and What I Am About
My name is Dave Brey and I have lived for almost thirty-six years. I have seen, done, learned and forgotten millions of things. I have created new synapses and killed brain cells. I have formed new habits and held onto old ones. I have learned about myself and about others through trial and error, and through it all there has always been a pen, and there has always been paper.
There may have been computers and typewriters and keyboards and laptops and all sorts of writing technology, but even still, through it all there has been pen and paper.
Pens I get from the dollar store. Most paper I get from Staples.
So what meaning does the pen and paper give to my life?
Writing with pen and paper allows me to express myself. It allows me to jot down my thoughts and get better at thinking by creating a connection between the mental idea and the physical written words. So am I an author? I have written a book, so maybe I am. But certainly, I am a writer. I have twenty notebooks, a hundred and fifty blog posts and umpteen half-finished electronically written ideas and journal entries.
Do I get paid to write? I have been paid to write, and been paid by my writing, but I don't make a living at it. Even so, I am certain that I am a writer.
I am a reader. I like to read many things, though lately I am on a non-fiction kick. Reading helps to inform my way of thinking, expands my universe, and allows me to travel the world from the comfort of my home. I love to share what I am reading and have read with others, and to hear from them what they are reading also.
I also play guitar. I sing. I love to make music, by playing someone else's songs or creating my own. So, I am a musician. I am not as skilled as I would like to be, but I am light years ahead of where I started. I don't know the ins and outs of music theory or the fret board, but I am a musician. It is certain.
Do I make money from my musical endeavors? I do not, but I have in the past, and could potentially again in the future. But I don't make my living through music. However, that makes me no less of a musician.
I am passionate about reading, writing and playing music; reading books I find interesting or someone has recommended to me, writing thoughts, poems and prose, and covering or writing original music. That is what I do with all my free time.
So, who am I? I am a writer, a reader, and a musician.
What am I about? I am about learning on this journey of life. I am about developing my sense of self as I move through life. I am about trying to become a better and more well-rounded reader, writer, and musician. These are the things that I am about.
Now, what do I do? For a living? Something completely different.
Ultimately, I would like to make what I am and what I am about what I do; to marry the three areas together is a lifetime goal of mine. And I am making progress. That is true. I am making progress. But it is slow going. So I will continue to do what I do in order to provide for my family, lifestyle, and for my passions.
So, let's sum it all up again.
Who am I?
What am I about?
I am Dave Brey, a writer, reader and musician, passionate about creating writing and music that helps others through this journey of life.
That is who I am, and that is what I am about.
I also play guitar. I sing. I love to make music, by playing someone else's songs or creating my own. So, I am a musician. I am not as skilled as I would like to be, but I am light years ahead of where I started. I don't know the ins and outs of music theory or the fret board, but I am a musician. It is certain.
Do I make money from my musical endeavors? I do not, but I have in the past, and could potentially again in the future. But I don't make my living through music. However, that makes me no less of a musician.
I am passionate about reading, writing and playing music; reading books I find interesting or someone has recommended to me, writing thoughts, poems and prose, and covering or writing original music. That is what I do with all my free time.
So, who am I? I am a writer, a reader, and a musician.
What am I about? I am about learning on this journey of life. I am about developing my sense of self as I move through life. I am about trying to become a better and more well-rounded reader, writer, and musician. These are the things that I am about.
Now, what do I do? For a living? Something completely different.
Ultimately, I would like to make what I am and what I am about what I do; to marry the three areas together is a lifetime goal of mine. And I am making progress. That is true. I am making progress. But it is slow going. So I will continue to do what I do in order to provide for my family, lifestyle, and for my passions.
So, let's sum it all up again.
Who am I?
What am I about?
I am Dave Brey, a writer, reader and musician, passionate about creating writing and music that helps others through this journey of life.
That is who I am, and that is what I am about.
Warts and All
Recommended listening:
The Deep Vibration Vera Cruz EP
Another chance to make something new. Another chance to write about something that I care about.
I have all the time in the world, but yet I have no time. I have no time, I have so much time.
I am full of contradictions.
I want to make a living as a creative artist. I want to do well at the company.
I want so many things, I want so little.
I need so many things, I need so little.
So why is it that I am continually banging my head against the wall, and why am I constantly able to push boundaries?
What am I actually thinking right now?
I am looking for a distraction. Something, anything, to take me away from the now, when in fact, what I want to be doing right now, and what I AM doing right now, is what I want to be doing now and forever.
So why am I searching for a distraction? Out of habit. I am searching for a distraction, because that is what I do. I don't focus, I don't bear down, I don't lean in when the going gets tough, I go and do something else.
That is the beauty and the hardship of life. Where your focus is, there is where you make progress. What you choose to allow yourself to do fully, that is what you make progress on.
Flow. A lot has been talked about the word FLOW over the past few years. Flow is a state in which one allows oneself to be completely consumed by what one is doing. So many ones. Just let it go.
Now, if I were to let myself be completely consumed by the fact that I am writing right now, it would make sense, and it would be in line with what I actually want for myself.
A distraction. A dichotomy. Something other than what I wanted to be working on, some other distraction popped up and I tended to it. My start menu is full of distractions. My mind is full of distractions. But I am still here, I am still writing, however stifled and stilted and nonsensical that it may be. That is all okay.
What then do I want to write about and be involved in? What then do I want to focus my time on? What, ultimately, do I want to do and be?
I have told myself for years that I want to be a writer, and yet I don't post anything with any regularity. True, I do write nearly every day, but not anything that I share.
And so I am going to share this, warts and all, and allow it to be, out there in the ether.
So, in the idea of letting something out there into the world, warts and all, what am I learning? I am learning that perfection is not the goal. Action is the goal: taking repeated focused action.
There is so much to write about, I can barely begin. Barely. But then I do, then I do begin, and I get started, get started on what I am trying to write about, get started on writing about something wonderful and useless and over.
I have a dream that I am a writer, full time, and that all I have to do is put the words in order as they come out of my mind, but my mind doesn't let the thoughts come in order, and it is all jumbled and all makes little sense.
That isn't a dream at all, it is reality.
And in the reality, the words don't come as easily as I might hope, and I have to fight each one out of me, and when it gets out, it's not as clear and concise and perfect, as I had imagined. But that doesn't stop me. Why doesn't it stop me? Why doesn't failure stop somebody? Because we are not failures, we are successes. We are successes masquerading as failures, tricking all of those around us, and it is just a matter of time until the mask comes off.
Just a matter of time.
And luck.
And energy.
But mostly time.
Time is mostly what there is and mostly what is going to take us all away and over the fence and beyond.
Time.
Time is the slayer of all.
It has slayed me already, I am half the man I used to be, and at the same time, double the man I once was. It is just a matter of perspective.
And since it is just a matter of perspective, one of the most effective things that I can do is look at life through another person's eyes. Try to see what it is that they see when they see life, what they see when they see life and living.
"Put your ear to the floor, and you can hear it sing."
- Matt Campbell of the Deep Vibration
And now I am writing again, and now I am moving forward, I am keep on keeping on.
There is always so much to write and yet I never get to the end. But I must get to the end. I must find the end of the tale, and tell it.
Everything has a beginning, a middle, and an end. All creation. All evolution. Aw shit, the old creation/evolution battle again. I can't stand it. I won't go there.
Now there is a time for everything, and it is now time for me to reflect on where I have been and gone and what I have seen in my first thirty five years of life on this planet.
So much, so very, very much.
But no time to record that now, that is for later. For now, I will just while away the hours and the days and weeks and the months and the years and let the time just slip and slip.
But at the same time I want to grasp it and hold onto it and not let any minute just go by. But they all just do. They all just pass, and there is nothing I can do about it but enjoy each moment as it comes and say goodbye to it as it goes.
Now is again a chance to say something, but I have nothing to say.
So let me leave you with this, if you have stuck with me over hill and dale so far during this post:
Just be yourself.
Life is too short to be anything else.
Get out there and be yourself.
Peace.
The Deep Vibration Vera Cruz EP
Another chance to make something new. Another chance to write about something that I care about.
I have all the time in the world, but yet I have no time. I have no time, I have so much time.
I am full of contradictions.
I want to make a living as a creative artist. I want to do well at the company.
I want so many things, I want so little.
I need so many things, I need so little.
So why is it that I am continually banging my head against the wall, and why am I constantly able to push boundaries?
What am I actually thinking right now?
I am looking for a distraction. Something, anything, to take me away from the now, when in fact, what I want to be doing right now, and what I AM doing right now, is what I want to be doing now and forever.
So why am I searching for a distraction? Out of habit. I am searching for a distraction, because that is what I do. I don't focus, I don't bear down, I don't lean in when the going gets tough, I go and do something else.
That is the beauty and the hardship of life. Where your focus is, there is where you make progress. What you choose to allow yourself to do fully, that is what you make progress on.
Flow. A lot has been talked about the word FLOW over the past few years. Flow is a state in which one allows oneself to be completely consumed by what one is doing. So many ones. Just let it go.
Now, if I were to let myself be completely consumed by the fact that I am writing right now, it would make sense, and it would be in line with what I actually want for myself.
A distraction. A dichotomy. Something other than what I wanted to be working on, some other distraction popped up and I tended to it. My start menu is full of distractions. My mind is full of distractions. But I am still here, I am still writing, however stifled and stilted and nonsensical that it may be. That is all okay.
What then do I want to write about and be involved in? What then do I want to focus my time on? What, ultimately, do I want to do and be?
I have told myself for years that I want to be a writer, and yet I don't post anything with any regularity. True, I do write nearly every day, but not anything that I share.
And so I am going to share this, warts and all, and allow it to be, out there in the ether.
So, in the idea of letting something out there into the world, warts and all, what am I learning? I am learning that perfection is not the goal. Action is the goal: taking repeated focused action.
There is so much to write about, I can barely begin. Barely. But then I do, then I do begin, and I get started, get started on what I am trying to write about, get started on writing about something wonderful and useless and over.
I have a dream that I am a writer, full time, and that all I have to do is put the words in order as they come out of my mind, but my mind doesn't let the thoughts come in order, and it is all jumbled and all makes little sense.
That isn't a dream at all, it is reality.
"All the stars shine like gold up in the sky."
- Matt Campbell of The Deep Vibration
And in the reality, the words don't come as easily as I might hope, and I have to fight each one out of me, and when it gets out, it's not as clear and concise and perfect, as I had imagined. But that doesn't stop me. Why doesn't it stop me? Why doesn't failure stop somebody? Because we are not failures, we are successes. We are successes masquerading as failures, tricking all of those around us, and it is just a matter of time until the mask comes off.
Just a matter of time.
And luck.
And energy.
But mostly time.
Time is mostly what there is and mostly what is going to take us all away and over the fence and beyond.
Time.
Time is the slayer of all.
It has slayed me already, I am half the man I used to be, and at the same time, double the man I once was. It is just a matter of perspective.
And since it is just a matter of perspective, one of the most effective things that I can do is look at life through another person's eyes. Try to see what it is that they see when they see life, what they see when they see life and living.
"Put your ear to the floor, and you can hear it sing."
- Matt Campbell of the Deep Vibration
And now I am writing again, and now I am moving forward, I am keep on keeping on.
There is always so much to write and yet I never get to the end. But I must get to the end. I must find the end of the tale, and tell it.
Everything has a beginning, a middle, and an end. All creation. All evolution. Aw shit, the old creation/evolution battle again. I can't stand it. I won't go there.
Now there is a time for everything, and it is now time for me to reflect on where I have been and gone and what I have seen in my first thirty five years of life on this planet.
So much, so very, very much.
But no time to record that now, that is for later. For now, I will just while away the hours and the days and weeks and the months and the years and let the time just slip and slip.
But at the same time I want to grasp it and hold onto it and not let any minute just go by. But they all just do. They all just pass, and there is nothing I can do about it but enjoy each moment as it comes and say goodbye to it as it goes.
Now is again a chance to say something, but I have nothing to say.
So let me leave you with this, if you have stuck with me over hill and dale so far during this post:
Just be yourself.
Life is too short to be anything else.
Get out there and be yourself.
Peace.
Potential, the Future, Life, and the Art of Letting Go
I have been told during my life that I have a lot of potential.
In fact, most recently, a YouTuber told me I had "so much freaking potential." I felt honored, and approved the comment even though it had landed in my spam box.
But what does it really mean to have potential?
How does it really impact your life to have potential?
For some reason, it reminds me of the black spot from Treasure Island, a summons to the grave.
Potential tries to define what MAY develop in the FUTURE.
However, I am trying to be concerned with what IS developing in the PRESENT.
When does potential become reality?
What does it take to make potential the actual reality?
How can we go beyond what is potentially identified and deliver something beyond what we thought possible?
What does the FUTURE hold? Who can possibly know? NO ONE.
I want to be able to completely think about the present, about what is going on right now, at this second, in this moment, and have it be the best it can possibly be.
I need to be attentive.
I need to be vigilant.
I need to be aware.
I need to focus.
I need to do so many things, but at the same time, I have to do nothing but live life, and let it be lived.
I need to be intense and relaxed at the same time. I have to do so many things.
What do I really have to do though? I have to merely be.
I have to merely allow myself to be and
enjoy and
share and
create.
So many things.
There isn't just one thing.
But there is just one thing.
LIFE.
I am enjoying life right now. I am letting the writing happen. I am enjoying the process of writing and relishing the idea of sharing it with the world. But that is the future.
I am a part of the present and the future at the same time.
Am I capable of letting go of the future, what may or may not be in store for me, and just live my life? Am I going to live in the present at this time right now, right here, as I work and live and breathe?
There is only one way for me to be myself completely, and that is to let it all hang out.
So if the potential and the future are all rolled into one thing, am I willing to give up that thing? Am I willing to give up what might be and live into what IS right now, at this very moment?
Am I willing to let my potential go, and just do the best that I can in all areas of my life?
Am I willing to reduce potential and the future to mere ideas and realize that right now, RIGHT NOW, is all I have to make anything different, whether past, present, or future.
RIGHT NOW, this MOMENT, this BREATH, THIS SECOND, RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW
IS
the only time that I can
change
be myself
live fully
be truly alive
be one with the universe
breathe completely and fully
learn something new
remember something old
embrace the present
diminish the past
forget the future
and live
my
fucking
life
like
I
deserve
to.
Now is all we have...
Don't waste it...
Do not be afraid.
We are all here.
But we can only do it now.
And if you get lost, get fucking found again.
It's time.
The time is now.
Let's do this thing.
Embrace the present, forget potential, hope for the future, let go, and live into the now.
I am alive.
Can you feel it?
I can.
I can feel you too.
Beat your heart out.
Go make something wonderful.
And share it.
R
I
G
H
T
N
O
W
:)
In fact, most recently, a YouTuber told me I had "so much freaking potential." I felt honored, and approved the comment even though it had landed in my spam box.
But what does it really mean to have potential?
How does it really impact your life to have potential?
For some reason, it reminds me of the black spot from Treasure Island, a summons to the grave.
Potential tries to define what MAY develop in the FUTURE.
However, I am trying to be concerned with what IS developing in the PRESENT.
When does potential become reality?
What does it take to make potential the actual reality?
How can we go beyond what is potentially identified and deliver something beyond what we thought possible?
What does the FUTURE hold? Who can possibly know? NO ONE.
I want to be able to completely think about the present, about what is going on right now, at this second, in this moment, and have it be the best it can possibly be.
I need to be attentive.
I need to be vigilant.
I need to be aware.
I need to focus.
I need to do so many things, but at the same time, I have to do nothing but live life, and let it be lived.
I need to be intense and relaxed at the same time. I have to do so many things.
What do I really have to do though? I have to merely be.
I have to merely allow myself to be and
enjoy and
share and
create.
So many things.
There isn't just one thing.
But there is just one thing.
LIFE.
I am enjoying life right now. I am letting the writing happen. I am enjoying the process of writing and relishing the idea of sharing it with the world. But that is the future.
I am a part of the present and the future at the same time.
Am I capable of letting go of the future, what may or may not be in store for me, and just live my life? Am I going to live in the present at this time right now, right here, as I work and live and breathe?
There is only one way for me to be myself completely, and that is to let it all hang out.
So if the potential and the future are all rolled into one thing, am I willing to give up that thing? Am I willing to give up what might be and live into what IS right now, at this very moment?
Am I willing to let my potential go, and just do the best that I can in all areas of my life?
Am I willing to reduce potential and the future to mere ideas and realize that right now, RIGHT NOW, is all I have to make anything different, whether past, present, or future.
RIGHT NOW, this MOMENT, this BREATH, THIS SECOND, RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW
IS
the only time that I can
change
be myself
live fully
be truly alive
be one with the universe
breathe completely and fully
learn something new
remember something old
embrace the present
diminish the past
forget the future
and live
my
fucking
life
like
I
deserve
to.
Now is all we have...
Don't waste it...
Do not be afraid.
We are all here.
But we can only do it now.
And if you get lost, get fucking found again.
It's time.
The time is now.
Let's do this thing.
Embrace the present, forget potential, hope for the future, let go, and live into the now.
I am alive.
Can you feel it?
I can.
I can feel you too.
Beat your heart out.
Go make something wonderful.
And share it.
R
I
G
H
T
N
O
W
:)
What the World Looks Like in the Evening
The setting of the sun is an event that happens every day. It is something to look forward to, especially when at the beach, because the vista is so beautiful. Although the end of the day can be a bit of a downer, depending on how you look at it. Another day in the books. Another day of triumphs and failures. Another day closer to the end. But another day nonetheless.
The sun in this picture is setting over the dunes to the west of the Atlantic ocean.
I have been thinking about how I am going to create a post per day on here. I am not sure how I am going to do it other than just doing it. And that is probably enough. Just do it. Just write the posts. Care not what comes of them after they are written, just write them.
And so, I am just writing this.
The sun. The sunset. The experience of the end of the day. The time spent at the end of the day to reflect on the accomplishments of the day. The time to prepare for the next day. The time to enjoy the company of others in the evening. How well will things turn out in the end?
It is nearing the fall time of year, my most favorite season. I love the cool weather, and the ability to wear jeans and a t-shirt most days. I see the fall as a time of renewal, as many people see the spring. I don't know why I see the fall as the time of renewal as opposed to the spring. Probably because of school and second chances that have come along in my life during the fall season.
I spent the day yesterday making something for the basement, a stand of sorts, that I could place my computer on in the mornings in order to write these posts.
It is simple and crude, but nonetheless something that I am glad to have made. I now spend my mornings walking and creating something new to share with the world. That has been a good experience.
I have had reluctance in the past to share what I create. I will still have that reluctance, but I think it is important to share anyway, for what I am creating is what is important to me, and what is important to me is important to share.
So maybe I have reached the end of this post, and should send it on and continue tomorrow. Or maybe I have some other thing to mention before I go.
Ah yes, back to the setting of the sun....
"It's not dark yet, but it's getting there." - Bob Dylan
Last Cigarette (Original Song)
On the night I left the earth
You gave me one last cigarette
The smoke and heat just lighted up my eyes
And bringing down the horse
Was a feat of metaphysical
Proportions that I cannot comprehend
All the jokes we tell in solitude
Are meant for me and you
And the morning light will show we feel the same
When I saw you through the glass
Our eyes met for a second there
And everything around us disappeared
The heat from our fire is so strong
And it burns so bright all night long
The memory of me and you
The thought that all our dreams came true
In a life we never lived but only dreamt
And now I’m on a starship
Breaking through the atmosphere
Hitting terminal velocity alone
And how I’m finally known
Is by the stage name of Jupiter
And Mars is pissed because he’s second best
On the morning they collect
The ashes from our grave
Our funeral pyre will still be slightly warm
And I never will forget
The breath of life you gave
On the night I died inside to be reborn
The heat from our fire is so strong
And it burns so bright all night long
The memory of me and you
The thought that all our dreams came true
In a life we never lived but only dreamt
The heat from our fire will keep us warm
The heat from our fire will keep us warm
The heat from our fire will keep us warm
The heat from our fire will keep us warm
Writing, Focused
This is just as easy to write on as any other platform. My ideas and thoughts can be fleshed out here. There is nothing stopping me. The only concern I have is that there are now followers to this blog, and I am beholden to them a little bit to produce something useful. Well, let this be a proviso then, that there may not be anything useful in the pages you may or may not read.
I have realized that I was splintering my writing into three main areas. 750words.com is a great website for getting writing going. It has some unique attributes to analyze your writing when finished for the day, and you can earn badges by putting together multiple days of writing.
Blogger is a lesser platform than WordPress, but Blogger is free right now and this is where I started, so. I started nobushel because I wanted to have a record of all my writing for others to see the path from undeveloped writer to, hopefully, professional writer. A lot of the time the pre-work gets lost in the adulation around the work that breaks. I wanted a record of the shit.
Finally, I have the Google Docs, where the fiction goes for the most part. The longer works go there, the longer fiction and nonfiction. I used to put all my thoughts in Google Docs as well, but I decided I wanted a more public record of my thoughts.
And so I started nobushel.blogspot.com. Which is where you are right now.
So the real reason I am writing this post is to say that I will be refocusing my efforts on recording all my thoughts and work on this site, nobushel.blogspot.com, and the public record can take it where it may.
I started using 750words.com in order to bypass the sharing, or record my thoughts without worry of sharing too much. Well, I'm not worried about that anymore. Not many people read this, and that's what a blog is for anyway; for sharing.
Might I not always feel this way? Probably. I will probably change my mind tomorrow, but I want to move forward anyway, pushing myself a little bit more each day to write and share the writing.
I have realized that writing is just thinking. It just happens to be that the thoughts get onto a page, and are available for reflection and interaction later on down the line. There is nothing special about writing, and insofar as it has to do with thinking, it is no more beneficial than not thinking at all. But I decided a long time ago that I enjoy writing, and that I want to continue to do it until I die. I think the same way about music. I enjoy playing and writing music and want to continue the practice into old age.
The Writing and the Posting
Not sure exactly what I am going to write here today, but I think it will be beneficial. Beneficial and important are two words I use pretty frequently to describe things that may or may actually be beneficial and important.
I am trying to write a post a day, and I have been trying to write a single post for the past week and a day, and I haven't come up with anything.
So, instead of trying to push ahead and make something totally worthwhile, I decided to just write on here in the morning, instead of using 750words.com, which is my usual go to for writing.
A lot of my writing is nonsense and not very helpful (or beneficial, or important). And that is why I tend to keep it on 750words.com. A nice quiet, private setting where the nonsense that I write can live and breathe, without really impacting anyone.
But the problem there is that I want to impact people. I think some of the things I have to say can resonate with someone somewhere, and what I want most of all is to help other people through my writing.
And so, I am on here, blathering away about nonsense, while hoping that some of it, somehow, will be important for someone, somewhere.
And by "on here" I mean I am writing a post on nobushel.blogspot.com, my Google Blogger blog. I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with Blogger. But that is a story for a different day. I can't and won't complain that I have an opportunity to type a few letters and post it for the world to see in one step.
My goal was to write seven hundred fifty words on this blog post, but I think that I may not reach that goal this morning.
And I have to come up with a picture. Ah yes, the picture. That is always the rub. That is always or sometimes the afterthought. And it can take a good bit of time to come up with just that right picture or photograph.
So, what would the picture or photograph look like for the idea I am trying to convey today? What visual would help enhance this post, which is really about writing posts? Maybe a pen and paper.
What the World Looks Like In the Morning
This is something big. This sky is breaking. These clouds are lifting with the sun.
And the world seems to know that this is what happens, but it's new to me.
And so I go along with what is happening, barely understanding and barely wanting to understand, instead just wanting to experience what is happening.
Have you ever woken up in the morning to see this sight?
We used to, every first day of the beach trip, go down to the ocean to see the sunrise. It doesn't happen all at once, like watching the sunset over the bay, you can see when the sun goes down once and for all and that last slice of the neon blood red sun disappears for the day, not to be seen again until morning.
But in the morning, everything happens gradually. It takes time and you can't really pinpoint the precise moment that the sun has risen. Maybe it happens the same way as the sunset when looking at the horizon, but I've never seen it that way. The sky gradually fills with light, and after a period of time, you realize that it is daylight again.
Have you ever seen the sun without seeing a shadow too?
Turn away from the shadows, and look at the sun, if you can find it in all the light of the morning.
From the Journal: 0001
When I write [longhand] in this book, I fear that it is going nowhere, that what I write, what I create, what I think will be lost among the pages and not ever really make a difference in anyone's life.
The reason I came to writing and creating in general, was and is to make a difference. The songs I sing serve a purpose. The writing I write serves a purpose. It is all there, all made for the reason of helping and enhancing others' lives. So when I face the real fear and the possible fact that what I write will have little or no impact on anyone, I become disheartened. And then I don't create anymore. When in reality, I should be redoubling my efforts, and trying yet again to bring light into the darkness and shine my way to freedom of expression and truth.
This is all to say that I think that creating is important in general, and specifically and especially important to me, personally.
And so I sat and decided to make a post out of it. Because sharing what I think is important, and what I create, is important to me. And so I will do it.
And so I have done it.
Waterfall
"And then when we get down there,
Way down to the very bottom of everything
And then we'll see it
Oh we'll see, oh we'll see it, we'll see it-
Oh my morning's coming back
The whole world's waking up
All the city buses swimming past
I'm happy just because
I've found out I am really no one"
- Bright Eyes
A Few Words of Encouragement (Or Lies I Should Have Convinced Myself Were True When I Started)
Save for future reference.
There is no one in the world like you. No one can make what you make. Though you may struggle and want to give up, you shouldn't. The only way past a hurdle is over it. Get up and jump.
You make your own way. The world does its own thing. Don't worry about it. What I mean is, don't pay any attention to what the world does. It doesn't concern you. You concern you. What you do all the time is what is important.
You are capable of anything, except what you won't try, or what you give up on. Try everything. Don't give up. Forge ahead as far as you can, then go a little further. You will be amazed at your ability to sustain and strengthen your resolve.
When its getting dark, light a torch. If you don't have a torch, light a candle. If you don't have a candle light a match. The light will guide you, but you have to shine the light. You have to be the one reaching out your arm with the light at the end of your fingertips, searching in the darkness for the path.
The road will rise up to meet you. You are on your own journey. You can't make a wrong turn. Just as it is impossible to get lost anymore, it is impossible to get lost anymore.
You already know the way to go. You already know where you want to be heading. Head in that direction. Become the person that you want to be.
There are no better ways to do what you are doing, because no one else is doing what you are doing. Don't search for a better way, just keep doing what you are doing. Just keeping making stuff and putting it out there.
There are no wrong answers, because there are no questions.
The only question that you have to ask yourself is... nothing. Don't ask questions of yourself, provide statements of fact. Get lost in the obvious.
Your audience is too big. Don't write for everyone. Write for one person. Write for one person, all the time. You can change the person you write for at any given time, but don't try to write for more than one person at a time. The audience is only ever one person at a time anyway.
There is no great time to blow up on the scene and infiltrate the world. There is only now. There will only ever be now. Allow now to be, and be yourself now.
This is too cryptic, too vague. What I mean to say is, be yourself. You try so hard to be the person you think you should be, the person you think other people will like and react to. Just be yourself. Hang the rest out to dry.
What does it mean to be true to yourself? I feel like I want to say that, that you should be true to yourself, "to thine own self be true", but I think what I really want to say is.... Be yourself. Be who you are, foibles and problems and nonsense and all. Just let yourself be.
And when you let yourself be, share yourself. Others want to see people who are themselves, because that is who we all want to be. We don't want to be another person, we want to be most truly and fully ourselves. We want to be free to be ourselves all the time.
Keep creating. You may never ever get it right, but you need to keep doing it. What is right anyway? The rightest thing you can ever do at any time is to make something that is reflective of where you are in life.
Follow your dreams.
"Our truest life is when we are in dreams awake."
Henry David Thoreau
More than follow your dreams, live your dreams. Don't be like, "I can't live my dreams." Yes you fucking can. Just do it. Make your greatest dreams come true every minute of every day.
What do you want from life? Create it.
You can make anything. So make it already.
The best thing you can do is do.
You will give up before you even start. Know this about yourself, and then refuse to give up. Learn from your mistakes. Your mistakes are not the end. Learn from them and grow.
You are a beautiful person. It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. Stop comparing yourself to others. Others don't matter. You do. You matter.
And because you matter, what you make matters, so keep making it, through the hard times and the good.
Don't create for others, create for yourself. You are why you got into this business in the first place. Make yourself happy, not others. Lead by following your own example.
Stop thinking about everyone else.
Stop thinking about everyone else.
You are creating because you can connect yourself to another person through writing, but you can't connect yourself to everyone at the same time. There is no mind meld when it comes to reading and writing. Everyone is affected uniquely as they experience writing and what is written. Leave your baggage out of it.
If you derail, don't worry.
You'll get back on track.
Keep making somethings. Keep trying. Stay with it. Stick to it. Make it happen. If you don't, no one else will.
You don't have time to stop making things. You don't have time to second guess yourself.
If I told you twenty years ago you would be where you are now, you wouldn't believe me, that's why you don't know where you'll be twenty years from now, because you wouldn't believe it anyway.
It's okay to not know the answer.
Make something of your life. No one else will.
Might as well live the dreams you have already.
No matter your best intentions, things don't turn out like you expect. That's not positive or negative, it's just a fact, Jack. So roll with it. Expect the unexpected: you'll be surprised anyway.
If you give yourself enough time, you'll talk yourself out of everything. Don't talk yourself out of this.
Save yourself a little time at the end to polish. Not a lot of time, like 2% of the making time is all you need. It won't be perfect, but that's what makes it perfect.
And this is the most important lesson of the day: stay grateful. You can't be anything without thanksgiving. Thanks to those who came before you, thanks to those who inspire you, thanks to those who formed your dreams, thanks to those whose dreams rest upon you, thanks to those who love you the most, but mostly, and most sincerely, thanks to the source of it all.
Thank you.
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