There's Revelation in Reinvention
"Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success." -Edward Everett Hale
Redo, regenerate, refresh, reskill, renew, repeat, restore…many words that begin with “re” have forgiveness and elasticity built into them. The words I listed above suggest that nothing is absolute, and if nothing is absolute, the world must exist in a fluid state, where flow takes us from one place to the next, and resistance to flow prohibits growth, movement, and change.
Re-imagine is another word I’m reconsidering.
Thinking new thoughts is the prelude to taking new actions. When 2024 dawned, I had new thoughts about making myself available. Without defining it too tightly, I let that thought ripen into action. Soon enough, it meant saying yes to work that I might not have considered in the past. By saying yes and taking action, I moved from being stuck in a career back eddy, to flowing with the river again.
With the benefit of movement and forward momentum, the re-engineering of the way you work, the way you make art, or the way you think can evolve organically. You’re not forcing it, you’re consciously allowing. To flow with the river requires trusting the river and letting the current guide you to a sandy beach. You can’t see the beach, but you know it’s there and the river knows it’s there. When it appears, you swim to shore.
Using Your Mind to Escape Your Thoughts
My friend Tom Asacker recently mailed me his forthcoming book, Unwinding Want. I read it eagerly and easily in two sittings. It’s a short book with a big message, namely to stop being controlled by our thinking minds and instead feel our way toward our truest desires—being in communion with nature, with other people, and with our own thoughts and feelings.
On pages 71 and 72, Tom writes:
Thinking is not living. Just like a musical score is not a concert. There’s no connection. No relationship. It lacks the vitality and aliveness of real life.
…Dance to the music inside of you. That’s the true source of your insights and awareness. Not the relentless thoughts in your head.
Unwinding Want reads like a riddle at first. You can see that riddle in play on the book’s cover. “Using your mind to escape your thoughts,” is an intriguing concept.
Tom asserts in the book that we can train our minds and learn to quiet our inner conflicts. This is Zen, and it’s the earned wisdom of a man with deep thoughts and an intense desire to connect and to be in relationship with the environment and in awe of the many mysteries of the universe.
Consistently Amplified
It’s nice to be liked. As a writer, it’s even better to be read, shared, and promoted (because it satisfies a human need to be “in relationship” with people who read). In the past year plus, Communication Arts (@CommArts) has shared my writing about developments in media, marketing, and advertising a total of six different times.
Starting in 2018, CA has shared and promoted my writing on Adpulp.com a total of 21 times.
Fearlessly, We Move Forward
This new commercial from Kamala Harris for President features the sort of clear on-brand messaging that’s been sorely missing from the Democratic Party and the public arena.
I love how she emphatically ends the spot with, “We’re not going back.”
Lagniappe
More of This Please: Love of Dogs and the Pure Joy of Play [via Adpulp.com]
Phish played NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert. It’s a good show.
NASA has found evidence of life on Mars. Why isn’t this the top story of the day? [via The Atlantic]
In other off-planet news, two American astronauts are currently “stuck in space” because of helium leaks and other mechanical problems with Boeing’s Starliner.
In Venezuela’s recent election, Nicolás Maduro declared victory despite widespread accusations of fraud, officially proclaiming the election decided without releasing the full vote counts. [via The New York Times]
Libraries for Health is re-imagining the delivery of mental health services by building upon existing community anchors - local public libraries. #bigidea
Thanks for being here now,
When you are ready to grow a mission-based organization, spark a social change movement, or invest in an arts or culture project, please let me know. I’d like to help.
Yes, the River Knows