Authenticity

Betwixt Reason and Recess

Run!!! - that's right.....I said, "RUN!!!".....as in beat your feet over to McNair Wilson's blog, Tea with McNair.

STOP!!!! - I know....I know....I just said, "run," but I do have to set things up first. I'd hate to see you trip on your way over.

You see - that's McNair in the middle of the picture. He hangs out with a crew few do...so watch your steps.

McNair is a good friend of mine - he worked at Disney for years as an Imagineer (somebody had to sit around in rooms and think of those concepts for all of those theme parks). He has been involved in the drama world all of his life. He has even done street theater at the Olympics. He is an author (Raised in Captivity), artist, ventriloquist (now retired), speaker, playwright, and all around nice guy.




His biggest gig? - is to encourage you to be as creative as our Creator intended you to be. I love the line that he uses in his workshops and presentations, "if you don't do you, you doesn't get done and creation is incomplete." I have now used the line so often and given him credit for it commensurately enough that I think that I can now steal it and use it as my own!!!

It's a tremendous concept - from a tremendously gifted individual.

So....here is the deal - McNair just posted the opening invitation for you to come along with him to Creativity Camp. This is fresh and hot off the press. Classes begin soon

There is a supply list (hey...you are going to camp...you need fresh underwear and socks) - so get over to that blog and get ready.

Are you a writer? - he may make you do some drawing. I know, "but I can't even draw a straight line!" As McNair says, "that is what they make rulers for!" He wants you to massage that entire side of the brain where the imagnination comes from so that your de riguer mode of creativity is enhanced.

No more questions - just go with me on this one. This is going to be some fun. If you are a fan of 52 projects, you are going to love the trip with McNair.

Join me for tea..................with McNair

The Nemesis

(A Special Post for SundayScribblings)

Yes.....I have had them - bullies that I had to avoid as a youngster come to mind. Not being tremendously big but having a bit of bulldog inside of me, it only took a few bad fight experiences for me to learn that there was a better way to deal with the brawn long, brain short type than allowing my face to be used as a punching bag. I couldn't do much about my size so......

I tried to become brain long myself - but not in a bookish sense. If I could become clever enough, I could evade the clutches of the nemesis. It wasn't about running and hiding. It wasn't about sucking up and making them my friend either. I have never had much use or tolerance for anyone that uses size to intimidate.

No....I just needed to get from Here to There - and, when the nemesis placed himself between the two, it was up to me to figure out safe passage.

Sometimes, it was about sensing - whether the time was right to make a pass by.....or if it might just be easier for this day to take the longer way and go around the situation. The longer route could take a longer time (funny how those two concepts coincide). When you weren't on a time crunch, it didn't really matter. The road less travelled often provided more interesting views.

If the time was right to take the direct route - near the nemesis, did I have a quick story or joke or other piece of entertainment ready? Did I have a reply at hand that would throw the enemy off track much like the well honed comedian does once the heckling starts (Michael Richards?....did you just read that last line?)

Bullies are not a treasured memory of my past - but they do deserve a degree of credit. Without them, I may not have developed coping skills that have served me well and giving me the degree of pleasure that a black belt martial artist surely gets as he performs his moves.

"The enemy is a very good teacher" - says the Dalai Lama. I have come to appreciate that wisdom.

Yet, one has to appreciate the wisdom of an even greater teacher - Love your enemies as you love yourself.

A nemesis can inspire you to conquer - but that same motivation can manifest into hatred. Hatred only consumes you. After his brother is murdered, Wyatt Earp bleats, "I'm comin....and I'm bringing hell with me," in the classic movie, Tombstone. Yes, Earp brings the fury....only to have it leave him a broken man....until he leaves it all behind out on in the high desert.

"Love your enemies as you love yourself" - is so easy to say and so hard to do. It's kind of the way it is when you start hanging around that Jesus guy....easy to say...hardest thing to do. In the end, though, it does appear that the hardest things to do bring the most satisfaction....

...and, though some of the toil is complete - I still have a lot of hard work out in front of me.

A Place at the Table

Thanksgiving? - yes, it's called that. To the long-winded, I suppose it could be called Thanksforthereceiving...

....and there is no one in need to be more thankful - than the guy writing this post.

I come from an average size family - but, along the way, I lost my mom and a brother. This cuts it down to just my elderly father, my brother and sister-in-law, and me.

This Thanksforthereceiving - saw my brother and father travelling to be with my sister-in-law's family for the holiday. She has a great family and I am thrilled that she and my brother take such good care of pops on a daily basis....even taking him to be around lots of people on a day like this. Dad likes that.

So, the Nutster was left all alone - but, being a bit of an introvert, it really wasn't going to be that big of a deal. It's not like the ol waistline needed a day of gluttony....plus, there was plenty of painting to do around the homestead.

But, I got the invitation that I couldn't ignore - even though I never committed to showing up....a real social faux paus.

My best friend of 33 years - invited me to go to his parents house and be with his family on Turkey Day.

I finished slapping a coat of latex on a baseboard - and said, "doggone it, Scott, get your fanny out of here and over to their house."

...and, when I arrived, my best friend's mother grabbed my arm - and took me into the dining room. She said, "look.....here is a place at the table for you with your name on it. We didn't know for sure if you were coming but we were sure hoping that you would come through for us."

Did you get that line? - "we were hoping that you would come through.....for us." What, so I could show up and have free plunder of fine food that was deliciously prepared for hours? So I could feast upon the love that you have had to develop within your family for 58 years?....and all I have to do is show up?...and I am doing this for you? Huh?

I wish I could remember the quote and who said it - but I can't. I can only try to paraphrase. It goes something like this:

It is a mark of success to enter a room and have people genuinely glad that you were there.

In my case - my biggest success was in choosing such good people to be friends with.....the grace they continue to extend to me is far beyond any that I possess...that is for sure.

My hope for all of you - is that you found a place at the table this Thanksgiving. I know many did not. Why I did is only testimony to the grace that God bestows upon me everyday.

Let's not reserve - this feeling of thanksforthereceiving that we get everyday for just one day in late for November. 364 days from today is much to far away.

A Thanksgiving Gift to All of My Travelling Friends

It's that time of year again - you need to pack it up and head out to those friends and relatives. Many of you will actually be staying at homes that aren't yours.

It wouldn't be quite right to be at a hotel - for Thanksgiving, now would it?

(OK....I know some of you are saying, "No, it wouldn't be right but it would be welcome!"

First, I am praying that the owner of the home that you stay in - has the Gift of Hospitality. And, it really is a gift...did you know that. These are the kind of people that have those freshly folded towels....all stacked up...bath, hand, and face....and tied together with nice twine. A brand new bar of fresh soap awaits you...

....and the bed - it looks like it came out of a magazine.

Yes...I pray that all of you will get that.

Now....onward to reality!!! - let's face it. You aren't getting any of that. As a matter of fact, you are an imposition. Don't be surprised to be treated as such. Yes....no matter how wanted you are, you are imposing upon the hosts. You are "the bad guy" so it is very important that you bring something to the table. After all, your hosts are bringing whatever degree of hospitality it is they can muster.

You must bring - your grace and charm. So, with that, let the Nutster bestow upon you a few ideas for things that you can say to your hosts that don't compromise your own level of integrity:

"This house is really a bit of a dive......but you have done some nice things with the mold"

"You know, with someone that has taste doing the decoration, I think this place could have some potential"

"Hiring the blind is an extremely noble thing to do....how long did it take them to paint?"

"Most of the items that you have are quite ugly......but you certainly have a lot of them."

"Wow...that dinner that you made was way closer to edible than last year's. Kudos on the improvement!"

Feel free to use any and all - of the above as you invade the domiciles of your relatives in the next few days.

I do have to warn you - if y0u use any of the above, any of the above, be ready to have an awkward silence returned rather than a "thank you." It happens all the time to me.

The only explanation that I have is that the hosts are so overwhelmed with my degree of graciousness - that they don't feel deserving of receiving any more of it.

It's the only reason that I can think of - that I haven't been invited to stay at anyone's home this year.

Notebooks

OK....- so it doesn't look like much....yet. But I will get it figured out.

This is a Moleskine cashiers - notebook. It only is a few pages thick. It comes in a craft paper brown cover...

...that was "pre-hack" of course - just let the Nutster loose on a cool Sunday afternoon with a couple of tubes of acrylic paint and it's the start of a project.

Right now - it's looking bush league. The picture actually does it more credit than it deserves...and that is not to say that you are looking at the picture and going, "man, I have to have one of those."
Of course, you probably do want this - just because it is a limited edition Nutster creation. I just have a hard time releasing something to the general public to accolades just because it has been touched by me.

I'm really not that big of a deal -.......what? Excuse me? Did you just say, "thanks, Nutster, but you didn't have to tell me that,"? Did you really say that?.....REALLY?

OK....you are off the Christmas list - and, when the above gets done, you can be pretty sure that your ink will not be spreading itself amongst the leaves of this tome.

And, while we are at it - you probably won't be doing any scribbling into the beauty that I am beginning to create below. This is pure quality....hand stitched...BY MY OWN HAND. It is lovingly bound with Gorilla
tape, the world's strongest tape according to the manufacturer. This is just pure messing around....

....which is kind of part of the point - sometimes you just need to do a little creative wandering and see where it takes you.

Nope - neither of these will end up in an art gallery...unless, of course, they do. But, they could start me in a direction of something that I would not even have thought about had I not made a move and taken on these seemingly worthless projects.

Hey...Christmas is coming - and who wouldn't take a handmade gift alone or alongside a seperate gift? As I wandered through some stores last night and looked at how hard our kids (and their parents) are being marketed to, I said to the person that I was with, "..if I had kids, they would get some kind of wooden train....and I would learn to carve something....and I would figure out how to make something else."

It was absolutely horrifying - mini-Escalades.....with the Rap music....big enough for the kid to drive in. And that was just one item. SORRRRRRRYYYY!

It's early....plenty of time before Christmas - start doing some creative wandering instead of mall wandering. If you have to go to the mall....get there now before the crowds are too bad.

Spend December exploring the gifts the King has given you - and not succumbing to the expectations of man (and women and children). You never know where your wandering and wondering may take you.

The Passenger

(A Special Post for Sunday Scribblings)

"I Don't Want To Be a Passenger in My Own Life"


-Diane Ackerman

OK...so those of you who have been reading along for awhile - know that I am a "quotes guy." I can spend a long time mulling over some well chosen words.

As I was handed the assignment to write on the above - my initial feelings towards this quote was, "why would someone say this?" and "out of all of the great quotes in the world, why would someone assign this one?"

I will do a little thinking on paper - as I type this out but I don't see my attitude changing around these 11 words.

First stumbling block - "a passenger IN my own life." It is hard for me to wrap my mind around "my life" as a container so to speak. Perhaps I am of too feable/literal a mind to do so. A life is not something you are in...it is something that you do.

Second stumbling block - Ackerman is a scientist and the quote above seems to want to steer herself and her reader toward being in control. There is only one thing that we control and it is how we think. There is great value is letting things to just be, much like in nature. This is why this is a surprising quote from Ackerman because she is a naturalist.

Third stumbling block - and this is personal. I don't want to be the driver in my own life. In the above, Ackerman makes it sound like she doesn't want to "go along for the ride." I have been at the wheel for most of my life. For the most part, everything has worked out fine......but what would happen if I honestly gave the wheel over to Him?

There was an old slogan - "Go Greyhound...and leave the driving to us." While I don't see myself heading down to the bus station anytime soon, there is another driver whose name begins with a G that I would gladly be a passenger of.

......but, let's be serious. Will I ever let loose of the reigns? No, probably not....because I don't really want to be a passenger in my own life.

Morning

A Special Post for SundayScribblings


Morning - just the word itself brings hope.

Yet...how can that be - when the same sounding word, mourning, brings anything but hope?

Who knows - and who cares??? There are a lot of people who have thought themselves into "not being morning people." Yup....I said it...they have thought their way into it.

Sure, I'll get the backlash for that but - I can only go off of personal experience and observation. Do you think that I really want to get out of bed when it is cold and dark? Do you think that I want to stumble around in a pre-dawn haze?

Of course not - but I do. Why? So I can enjoy the optimism of the new day. U2 had the great line, "nothing changes on New Year's Day," and it is true. Theoretically, nothing changes on any day. Morning...night... afternoon...these are all tags that man has put on the continuous string of sun ups and sundowns that we call time.

In reality - there is no morning, noon, or night. We live in one continual spatiality of time.

Despite that - I still like to call it morning. While nothing changes, everything can...so it does. New hope...new dreams...new beginnings. We look at morning as a start of a new day. Time to make changes. To progress. To reflect. To decide....

All of change happens in ONE INSTANT - no, change does not happen over time. The results of change may happen over time. But change is made in an instant.....one instant at a time.

And what better time than the morning? - I feel for those that can't get in touch with the morning. The train has left the station and, for those afflicted with morningaphobia, they get to watch it pull away. Yes, I am sure that they still accomplish much. No one is better or worse on this planet. It is just that everyday, the morningaphobic has an instant to longer of watching the train disappear down the track and is left to wonder.....

...."hmmm. While I am fine here at the station, I wonder if I should have caught the morning train today."