August 2009

Yesterday I received a message from a very cool person requesting that I do what I thought was a very uncool thing. She asked me to remove the drawing of a naked woman that sometimes appears in the box on the right hand side of this blog. She went onto explain her reasons for this. I read them and then politely informed her that I would not be honoring her request.

First of all, it’s not actually a drawing of a naked woman. It’s a drawing of a statue of a naked woman, displayed on the campus grounds of a university. A Catholic university, by the way.

Second of all, the only things I find objectionable about the image are my pitiful drawing skills, which is why I leave it there. Every time I see that drawing and the handful of others I’ve included, they speak to me. They say, “Hey, we’re lonely. When are you going to draw some more pictures?” and “Didn’t you have an intention to actually get better at this? So what gives, buddy?

And last but not least, if someone really finds the image offensive, they have two options. They can either choose not to visit my blog, which I hope is not the case, or they can refresh the page. The images randomly rotate and you can change them by right clicking and selecting that option.

I Don’t Mean to Offend, but Don’t Mean to Pretend Either

Please understand, it’s not my intention to offend anyone, but this is a blog about living a creative life. If I start removing anything that bugs someone, it’s tantamount to me telling you to unleash your creativity, to be authentic, and to freely express yourself as long as it doesn’t upset anyone. Goodbye, Inspiration. Hello, Puritanism. Continue reading . . .

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It’s easy to get distracted, to look at what everyone else is doing and think to yourself, “Maybe I should be doing that too.” Maybe. Maybe not.

Whatever everyone else is doing, they’re doing it for a reason. It might be the right reason. It might be the wrong one. The real question, however, is why you think you should be imitating them.

Why is a good question to ask from time to time. Why am I buying this five dollar Latte? Why am I checking my email for the seventh time today? Why am I avoiding starting on that painting I’ve been thinking about for the last five weeks?

If you can’t think of a really good reason for doing something, then here’s another good question to ask. What if?

What if you simply stopped doing it? What would happen if you skipped the Latte, left the email for tomorrow, and stopped avoiding that painting that’s been whispering in your ear?

If you don’t have an answer to what if, there’s only one way to find one. Try it.

Conduct a little experiment. Have a little fun with it.

This website came about because one day I asked, “What would happen in a year’s time if I stopped feeling sorry for myself and actually did something like post at least one sentence every day to a blog?” I won’t bore you with the details again, but just know this: good things happened and they’re still happening.

Notice I didn’t say, “I must post a sentence every day.” I simply asked, “What if?” I didn’t puff out my chest and grind my heels. I just got curious.

Curiosity is a powerful thing if you’ll tap into it. It can turn chores into puzzles, obstacles into intriguing mysteries, and fear into the need to know.

Some say please be serious. I say please be curious. It’s a lot more fun than simply doing what everyone else is doing.

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