The Meaning of the Meaning

The meaning of life. What a profound statement. There are so many implications and interpretations behind the meaning of life and is there only one answer? Some people think there is a singular solution and they advocate that if everyone would just  do things exactly the way they do it then everyone would be successful, thin and happy. However, we know that's not the reality. 

To me, life can seem a blissful holiday one day, with sunshine, birds singing and unbound optimism. The next day it may seem a foreboding harbinger of doom, ready to fall upon me a crush out my very life. 

Aside from the psychological implications of being hopelessly schizophrenic, or whatever the proper medical term is, most of us would admit to having mental highs and lows which will not be debated here, but I, for one, am happy that I have the ability to illustrate my thoughts, either through drawings, words or both. Doing so requires me to examine some giants of art and literature (or any field of endeavor) , as well as the everyday people. When I realize that even people of great success have everyday problems, then I don't feel like such an anomaly.

My Favorite Writer

It's no secret to my friends and business associates, that I write and most of the time, when it's convenient, my words are accompanied with a humorous drawing. 

I have a handwritten journal I keep at home, and I always have paper and pen with me when I'm away from my desk. Recently, I've been keeping a micro-journal on my cell phone using the OneNote app which syncs well with all my devices. This micro-journal is good for writing on the go or when I'm even at home when I get the itch to write right-away. No waiting.

Needless to say, I have an assortment of sketchbooks which also serve as a journal. A graphic journal, if you will, and in them are drawings which record my thoughts just as words can.

I have this thing about me where I insist I can do things better than anything mass produced whether it's cooking a meal, coffee, or even writing. There are many best selling books I've read (or began reading) that I couldn't stomach. Some of these books are bestsellers and congratulations to the authors who have found the way to sell to the masses. It's also a heavy commentary on the mindset of the readers of these books. Someone once said

"When I want to read a 

good book I'll write it."

Maybe I'm totally wrong. I could be swinging at a ball that isn't there. Who am I to determine what is good writing and what isn't? But don't we all have our own opinions?

This is a Life?

There is a network of Christian business men I attend on a monthly basis and I've slowly come to the realization that the guest speakers at these meetings tell very similar stories and follow predictable patterns which is why I know I'll likely never be chosen as one of their guest speakers. 

I'm being rather presumptuous to think I would be considered as such, but it is my hope that one day I will be chosen as someone's guest speaker. However, I am quite certain I won't be chosen as the afore mentioned organization's speaker.

Why? Because based on the previous speakers, I don't fit the pattern. Most of the guests speakers have had a life of alcoholism, drug abuse, wife beating, and prison who have been face down in the gutter, then found God who led them to a remarkable recovery and brilliant life.

My background contains none of those experiences and in fact, based on said criteria, I am apparently very boring. I've been a faithful husband, my marriage involves no abuse, and I've never been afflicted with alcoholism or drug addiction. I've never gambled. I've never been to prison nor have I ever been homeless. I've never driven a successful business into the ground and neither have I been "on fire" for The Lord.

My message is how normal I actually am. My story is not to impress the average guys and gals, with stories of rags to riches, other than I hope that one day, this heretofore ordinary life is one that reaches a certain level of success to which the normal person can more relate. I wish to be more inspirational to those of us lying face down in mediocrity, not the gutter.

 

Pray, Work, Repeat

Recently I've made the announcement how I've contracted with Morgan James Publishing and 48 Days Press to get Shut Up & Draw published. We all know the old adage, "be careful what you pray for cause you might get it".  (Pre-order Shut Up & Draw)

My partnership with Morgan James and my relationship with my virtual mentor, Dan Miller, (which by the way is becoming less virtual as we communicate more often) has opened so many doors and realms of possibilities which is not unlike culture shock. I've thus been researching all the ways to market the book and networking in relation to the same and it's quite overwhelming. I need to break the elephant up into smaller bite sized pieces which is in itself a big job, mentally speaking, that is.

Upon making the announcement to my network of friends and associates, I received the admiration from people to whom I was previously invisible and the funny thing is they have no clue as to how overwhelmed and  intimidated I am. 

However, the bottom line is this: enough research and studying. Now it's time to get to work. 

 

Platitudes and H.L. Mencken

"Platitudes are the Sundays of stupidity"

The above quote is attributed to H.L. Mencken (1880-1956) who was a journalist, satirist, social critic and free thinker. I don't pretend to know what all that means. 

I found it to be a very interesting statement and I wanted to find out what he meant by it. 

He is also known as the "American Nietzsche" and in order to fully understand this remark, I had to look up some definitions. The first was "who is H.L. Menken". I just answered that. 

The next thing I wanted to answer was the definition of "platitude". Webster defines it as 

"the quality or state of being dull or insipid; a banal, trite or stale remark."

Next, what has Sunday to do with it? Sunday is a day of rest. A holy day, a sabbath. A day off. In the case of the quote it might be more related to the adjective used to describe someone putting on their best behavior or appearance; an amateur as in the phrase 

"put on your Sunday best".

"Stupid"? It means slow of mind, unintelligent, brutish or senseless. 

So if I put it all down another way, the quote may go something like  this: 

"dull, uninteresting and trite remarks, are showy things senseless people say". 

Could it be said another way? 

"Things are said in trite ways to satisfy unintelligent people".

It might also mean 

"the dim-witted things people think or say are generally acceptable when wrapped nicely in an insipid quote".

To me it is like a politician, when trying to win the votes of the masses, dances around the substantive issues by giving a wordy speech bedraggled with nice, banal words and phrases, but short on specifics.

I think of this quote when I hear an oft repeated phrase; a platitude. Things like  

• "Reach across the aisle"
• "The time is now"
• "There's only one race, the human race"
• "There's still work to be done"
• "Glass Ceiling"

No Punching a Time Clock for Us

I've often struggled with my daily regimens and habitual work routines. When I was working a job, my schedule was very much set in stone by knowing when it was time to punch in and out, when to go to lunch, how long I could take, etc. In the world of self-employment, however, it's a bit more challenging. 

The challenge...

There is always the dogmatism of some who feel like every moment we're awake should be filled with work and not just work but the type which is associated with our vocation. There are also those that feel how they do things is how everyone should do it.

I must admit I've grappled with this philosophy because I've discovered that spending hours of continuous focus on a solitary task tends to diminish my creative thinking as fatigue sets in. I would then think of myself as undisciplined or berate myself for being so lazy.

Poor, poor, pitiful, me...

As time passed and the more I discovered about great creative thinkers throughout history, the more I realized that there may be less amiss with me than I have thought. Many famous and wealthy people have had various working routines and strange habits to help them and they're all as varied as the individuals themselves. 

• Maya Angelou would work for about six hours and she always did so from a hotel or motel room.
• Mozart would compose and teach for over ten hours a day but his time was broken up. In between he would dine, read, and take walks with his wife.
• Charles Darwin worked for short times dispersed between recreation, reading and dining. 
• Beethoven started each day with a cup of coffee from exactly 60 coffee beans, no more and no less. He would carefully count them. To him it was the perfect cup of coffee. 

Some famous people worked regular or mundane jobs that helped in their creative thinking.

• Albert Einstein worked as a patent clerk when he came up with his Theory of Relativity.
• Walt Whitman was a newspaper editor even after he was publishing his famous poems. 

Aside from the work routines, some famous celebrities had some very strange habits many of which bordered on the bizarre.

• Aldous Huxley kept a revolver in his desk drawer and whenever he finished writing a book he would fire a shot out of his office window.
• Artist Georgia O'Keefe painted from the rumble seat of her Model A ford.
• Leo Tolstoy, though wealthy, wore only ragged peasant's clothes because of his disdain for the upper class.
• Earnest Hemingway wrote standing up.
• Composer Franz Schubert wore glasses which in itself isn't strange but he never took them off. He even wore them to bed.
• Michelangelo rarely bathed and would wear the same clothes for days. He would even sleep in them, boots and all.
• Victor Hugo wrote in the nude. He instructed his servant to hide his clothes to prevent him from leaving the room until he met his deadline.
• Dan Brown hangs upside down to prevent writer's block. 
• Friedrich Schiller, the German poet, kept rotten apples in his desk drawer because the putrid smell jolted his brain into activity.
• Truman Capote was the oddest of them all. He never called anyone whose phone number added up to 13 nor would he stay in a hotel room whose numbers also added up to 13. He never began or finished a piece of work on a Friday. He was a chain smoker which he claimed help him in his creative process but would never allow his ashtray to have three cigarette butts. He would put then in his pocket. 

I have some habits of my own that don't go as far as those mentioned which are:

• I start everyday handwriting in my journal, and I have a specific refillable fountain pen I've had for years used for only that purpose and I never use it for anything else.
• I use only a hardcover dictionary and thesaurus. Nothing digital.
• I draw using dip pens before making it digital.
• I have to wear shoes when working at my desk. 

No, these aren't as bizarre as Capote or Huxley but I'm grateful I'm not so oddball. I think.

Feel free to list any of your own habits or routines, strange or not, in the comments below.