Category: 5 Minute Musing
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Day 7
It’s day 7 of COVID quarantine.
The toys have started drinking.
Adventure on.
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A Little Soul Care
Art washes away from the soul the dust of every day life.
Pablo PicassoI once had a rubber stamp with this quote on it. It might still be buried somewhere. We definitely got a lot of milage out of that one.
However, as much as I liked to tout the importance of art to keep things vibrant and fresh…I don’t think I really understood the full meaning of the quote until today.
I always took the quote to mean the consumption of art. That by looking at, listening to, or experiencing great art from great artists, my soul would be cleansed. I would come home refreshed and invigorated. Ready to tackle the mundane business of laundry, dishes, diapers, and all-the-things.
Of course means it has to be an excursion, right? I have to go to a great temple of art like LACMA or even the local temple of RAM. I need to view, pause, breathe. Then somehow in the stillness of those white walls and climate controlled environment, I will be liberated from the everyday.
But who has time for that?
Don’t get me wrong, I love an excursion to be inspired by what others are doing. There is something magical in those all-encompassing spaces.
But I LIVE in the everyday. I am learning that leaving the dusting for six months just means you live in the dirt. And man-oh-man, the more you let it settle the harder it is to wash away.
This is where I realized I got this quote wrong. I don’t think art consumption is what cleans our souls. I think it is art creation. And it doesn’t have to be fancy. It doesn’t have to go on a canvas or get hung up. Think of a child who draws fifteen pictures for their refrigerator because they love to draw. I think that is the type of art that washes your soul on the daily.
It took a morning of overwhelm, frustration, and the decision to go in my studio rather than check out in front of the TV for the epiphany to strike. Within a few small strokes of my pen on paper, I was already feeling more calm. More in time with myself. More clean.
I don’t know what it would look like for you to make some art on the regular. I don’t know what it looks like for me to be honest. I think the first step is reaching for a pen rather than a remote.
I do hope we can figure it out though. That we can be people who aren’t living in the dust storms of the mundane. Rather, that we can be people who have been washed clean to focus in the bigger perspective.
Adventure on.
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Fear Setting
My family has some big decisions to make in the near future. In the midst of everything else that is going on in the world at large, these decisions seem both trivial and monumental at the same time. It is a perfect storm that can lead to fear and stagnation.
Part of me is desparate to have the decision made and to be moving forward in a direction that should bring some permenance to our lives. Right now I crave stability, rhythm, and the ability to craft a simplistic lifestyle.
The other part of me wants to make wise decisions and to be steady, patient, and willing to wait for the best. It craves the ability to look back and say without a doubt that we made the right decision.
Fear setting is a concept created by Tim Ferris. I was introduced to it in his book The Four Hour Workweek and again in his Ted talk on the topic. The idea is to list out your fears and what is the worst that could happen. Then, you figure out what you are going to do if that very worst thing happens.
I will be doing this exercise with the decisions we have to make and let you know how it goes.
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The Art of the Pivot
Today, the green beans and spinach defeated me.
After a long day at work and a quick dinner, I decided to tackle making baby food.
It was my second attempt at something Pinterest assures me is super easy and healthy. Steam, puree, sift. How much trouble can it be?
Hard enough.
As I was standing at the food processor, trying to get my spinach to be something other than water, listening to someone else laugh and play with my boy, the disappointment and sadness began to creep in.
Sad because I wasn’t spending time with my family. Disappointment because I was obviously doing many things wrong — and I don’t like doing things wrong.
That’s when I decided to pivot.
A pivot* isn’t giving up. It’s not throwing in the towel. It not being defeated — even if you have vegetable purée smeared all over yourself.
A pivot is recognizing that the direction you are heading isn’t working as well as you want. A pivot comes out of asking questions like:
- What is time cost associated with this direction? Is it worth it?
- Do I have the tools I need for this?
- Am I getting the results I was hoping for?
- Is there an alternative direction I can go?
Even though it requires changing directions, a pivot will keep you walking towards you goal.
My goal in making food was to try keep Jacob’s diet simple and healthy. However, as I listened to him giggling and laughing with Paul as they got ready for bed, and eventually went to bed, I had to wonder which was the greater cost; using store bought baby food or missing out on time with my son.
After looking through the ingredients in the store bought food, I decided it was worth it to spend more time with Jacob. I could still keep his diet simple and healthy while using the store bought foods.
I also decided the way I was trying to make baby food wasn’t working. So I experimented until I found an easier process (but that’s another post).
Now we have a mix of both. Sometimes I make baby food. When I do, I have the system down to a 20-minute process that I can do while cooking our dinner.
Sometimes Jacob gets Gerber’s or Beach Nut. I stick to simple foods that contain the desired food and water.
Sometimes he gets both. Almost all the time, I get to join in on the laughter and getting ready for bed.
The point of this post isn’t to tell you how to feed your baby. It’s to share that it is okay to change directions when you need to.
*The concept of the pivot was introduced to me in the book Lean Startup by Eric Ries
Jess Boctor 