needs doing

Two things that hit me this morning:

1. The power of the unexpected
2. How successful entrepreneurs tend to get their Big Ideas: based on someone else's bright spark.

Now the first happened because I read a post in the Huff by Mark Olmsted here. And I thought Mark you're damn right: things happen all the time we don't plan on and it's hard to foresee the future, even more so because things change so fast. Should we give up trying to assess where out future is going and simply focus on that which is important to us? Focus and doing seem to be the most essential items in the tool kit.

The second thing clicked in my blond brain simply because I thought of a friend who told me how he got his Big Idea and set up for early retirement which was listening to someone else who gave it to him, also I finally watched The Social Network which showcases how Mark Zuckerberg (supposedly of course) got his Big Idea for The Facebook and consequently I thought of other stories that came to mind, all with the same scenario: Big Ideas are seldom unique, they are simply built on that which already was before. It's catching the strands of other ideas and connecting the dots.

I realized another thing: I connect dots but don't always utilize this ability as things usually move too fast for me to do something with it. What I decided is to de-fluff. Some ideas, especially those filled with nostalgia or grandeur might look pretty and be fun, but ultimately now is a time of practicalities. It's simply about finishing things and getting stuff off our to do lists. Boring? Perhaps. Sensible? Absolutely! Great? It's the answer.

For me finishing things on our farm in order to continue the plan of action that involves more then I'm willing to share at this time is paramount. Working simply to generate income to finish said plans is two. I had to reshape my planning idea I had a while back as my time-slots simply didn't allow all the things I wanted to do. This forced me to choose. Back-scaling to the essentials therefor is both simple, pragmatic and ... feasible. So I'm done with the many Big Ideas and am working on that which just needs doing. If I have time left over I will work on that prototype I'm developing. Which is an actual feasible and sensible idea.

As Mark Olmsted so aptly stated in his blog-post for the Huff: "The one thing that we can be sure of is that we can't be sure of anything. But we can expect the unexpected."

So my new motto is: stuff needs doing, just get on with it. How are you dealing with your plans?

Picture source: Spoon-Tamago

performance art

I am increasingly interested in performance art and art that simply blends multiple categories. Nowadays I think it's safe to say that;

• Art is no longer created specifically to be hung on a wall (naturally we have seen different spaces utilized to showcase Art for a while).
• The distinction of disciplines is continuing to diminish even further.
• What Art will continue to be is Expression, whatever way you look at it.

Via MoochMagazine I found Daniel: http://www.danielarsham.com/

From the Moochers: "Daniel Arsham is new type of artist, his work brings together multiple

mediums which include performance, dance, architecture and art. His forms are pure, linear, elegant and, curiously, three-dimensional. Arsham uses illusions to make his masterpieces feel magically alive. Born in 1980 in Cleveland Ohio, USA. Daniel lives and works in New York and Miami."


Other works Daniel has made or worked on in collaboration:

That Daniel is one clever talented cookie also shows in his commercial work. He set up Snarkitecture with Alex Mustonen: 

Snarkitecture is a collaborative practice operating in territories between the disciplines of art and architecture. Working within existing spaces or in collaboration with other artists and designers, the practice focuses on the investigation of structure, material and program and how these elements can be manipulated to serve new and imaginative purposes. Searching for sites within architecture with the possibility for confusion or misuse, Snarkitecture aims to make architecture perform the unexpected.

Snarkitecture was established by Alex Mustonen and Daniel Arsham and is represented by Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin.

the shortest day

The shortest day is like the shortest breath

It's cold. People look frozen.

Time moves fast as it does slow

On the shortest day.

We have a wine.

We light a smile.

We see only a few.

On the shortest day

Years ago we had it figured out

Now things have changed again

And we could be anywhere at all

On the shortest day

Many dreams gallop overhead

and the sun sets all too soon

So all we have is each other

On the shortest day

Tomorrow the light will increase again

Perhaps make sense to us some more

Hey where are we going?

On the shortest day.

on the streets

This week I've been in Melbourne where the eating is fabulous, the company even better and the street art impressive. These are a few of the photos I've taken while there.

checking it all out wearing Oodlies.com shoes.......

our Mooodlies goofballs hanging outside the gallery....





Art lives on the street and breathes.... it lurks and speaks. It giggles and farts. It is loud its is partly hidden. If you look again it may be gone. It comes it goes. It's never for ever.

peace

There is a lot of "oneness" currently going on, on many different levels. There is less thought about "countries" and "boundaries" as there is about the expressions of "people". People online connect in all sorts of ways and discuss all sorts of topics. Also offline we run around like chickens. News items come out in the open faster and more is shared then ever before. 

Have you felt any changes in your body recently? Thing are literally humming and it seems we are cramming experiences together like an overstuffed burger that is dripping with cheese. Many people experience a feeling of condensed time. We are either running out of steam or feel we can't keep up anymore. We try to do too many things or want to get too many things done. Then again why do we choose to? We are a funny bunch aren't we.

“Whether a human heart is open or whether that heart closes has global implications” ~Pema Chodron~


I consider this time to be one about the business of the heart. Some people say: where is the logic? Where is your reality? Yeah what about that reality huh. What, don't tell me: you like the way your job is going? This modern slavery we are caught in? What could you be doing instead if you didn't have to earn a living to provide food and pay your mortgage? Hard work can be useful and sensible, if you're working towards something you really believe in. If it means you are doing something worthwhile. If it provides you joy and sustenance and all the things you were hoping to experience. Ultimately what we all want is to experience peace apparently. To do what we like to do and not burden anyone else with it but rather: share it around. I'm thinking goat cheese myself. I would be quite happy to have the time to start milking my goaties and crack out some sublime goat cheeses. For now I'm still an interior designer working 9-5s and Mooodling of course.


So what is it with this heart business?
This is where we reside. Not in our head. A Dr. stated that our brain is a physical vessel that contains many things but our actual thinking is not done there. Did you know that? It's a wonderful thing to wake up to. Where does our consciousness go when we sleep? Where does it go when we are dead? Read more about Dr Pim van Lommel and his work here. Did you also know that what we think can actually change the shape of water on a molecular level? Research came up with that. Yeppers. See the video of that here: (an excerpt of the movie: What the Bleep Do We Know.)


An interview with Dr Masaru Emoto the water doctor below, fascinating!



Back to the heart: we seem to be able to have more effect on our environment through our emotional (guidance) system then we do through conventional thinking. What do you think made the book The Secret such a success? More and more people are finding out how to use their natural abilities. (The book the Secret was based by the way on the works of Esther and Jerry Hicks. More about this insightful and friendly couple here.)

"One simple change - seeking and finding peace within - could, were it undertaken by everyone, end all wars, eliminate conflict, prevent injustice, and bring the world everlasting peace. World peace is a personal thing. What is needed is not a change of circumstance, but a change of consciousness." Neale Donald Walsch (FB post today)

"Peace is a daily, a weekly, a monthly process, gradually changing opinions, slowly eroding old barriers, quietly building new structures."
- John F. Kennedy

So a long story short: whatever you think, or feel, or decide to do, or not do, has effect. It means you too, can decide to declare World Peace by working on your own peace. I have started with myself as that's the only person I have a say about. So get to it too! Do your thing and have fun with it. Oh and say "I declare World Peace". Just like that. More info on: http://ideclareworldpeace.com/ That will keep you busy for a while...

"In 2010, we hatched an idea to create an art installation unlike anything ever before seen or heard of on this planet, made possible for the first time in history by modern technology and the prevalent existence of social media. Our idea is to create the largest art installation ever, to be installed not in some physical location, or even in cyberspace but rather within the consciousness of every person on the planet, a sort of "Gates of the Mind". Each person will hold a "flag" in his or her mind, which collectively will change the history of the world. The "flag" is I Declare World Peace, expressed in the language of the thinker."


"Come help us create the largest art installation in the history of the world, installed, for the first time ever, on the consciousness of mankind."

perception

Yesterday I watched the movie "the girl with the dragon tattoo". It was quite a graphic movie in the sense that very unpleasant thing were happening to the main characters. The movie was excellent as the storyline was good and it showed how people can choose to behave in different circumstances. The more you understand the background stories the more things make sense. There are no black and white absolutes which is what I liked about it. I think "truth" and our versions of it are multi dimensional. Having an opinion about anything therefor can be a difficult thing to shape.

We usually do not know what stories people carry around and it's usually not necessary for us to know either. I am a strong believer in that you are able to influence what you attract in your life, no exception. Being responsible for your own life and dealing with any situation that comes along is a daily activity. So what about when people appear not being able to defend themselves?

It's a good question and not an easy one. Are there bastards in the world? Most people would say yes of course: this that and the other! Are there innocents in the world? Yes. Are there tons of grey areas? Millions. Why do some people "have it easy" and why do "some people always experience shit"? I don't know either. But I do know that creating hypes and a lot of noise about bad things will hardly make it any better. It makes more sense to do the best you can do and if you do find yourself in a situation that you can make a lot of a difference, do so.

Nico and I once ran into a troubled girl on a campsite. She had serious thoughts about killing herself and had tried something with a gasoven that didn't work out. She had had a difficult childhood and eventhough she didn't mention all the particulars we did get a fair idea of the horrendousness of it. She spoke about it in such a off hand manner that would turn the average person stone cold. We did what we could for her and suggested things that could help her practically and mentally. She was most grateful as she said that we were strangers there at the right time to listen. And to care. I think it made a difference in her life that she needed at the time to make a decision to move forward.

Ultimately it seems that this is the only thing we can do: to be conscious of what we choose at any given time. And whether we give a damn about others. Even when we don't know them.

Who have you met recently that you could have helped but didn't? Who did you help but only realized later that you did? And would you be willing to step up and do the hard yards or just say you would? Things are never easy and straight forward and yet sometimes. They are.

karma

Whether you believe in Karma or not

Life has a way of shaping itself

As you see and feel it

in your mind

in your heart

Choosing now

to simply be

and accept all there is

releases the struggle within.

Nothing out there can hurt you

only the inability to understand the bigger picture

that makes you experience pain

and creates all struggle

Karma is a name for pattern in motion

It's just a label

Don't worry about its stories

Just feel what is right for you

and let go of that which no longer fits you

Simply be..

And feel you're way through it

You are your own guidance.

Trust that.

Trust your self.

That's all there is.

source karma idea: Eckhart Tolle

poem: Mirjam Spronk

photo: lookANDsee

trying too hard

Working hard can be useful. Working hard can be fun. Heck working hard can even be peaceful.

There is such a thing though as trying to hard:
Trying to hard to finish things when clearly time and energy are against you
Trying too hard to make it work with others when clearly it's not
Trying too hard when the marriage is over
Trying too hard to get people to like you when you're fine as you are
Trying too hard to make money when you're not enjoying the job
Trying too hard to juggle too many things
Trying too hard to make a point
Trying too hard to convince someone else. Why do you?
Trying too hard to get slim. Think healthy instead.
Trying too hard to keep all your promises.
Trying too hard to get "it all done".
Trying too hard to keep a clean house.
Trying too hard to ensure the kids grow up okay.
Trying too hard in bed.
Trying too hard to be funny.
Trying too hard to succeed. What is success anyway?
Trying too hard to "get ahead". What will you find once you have reached your goal?
Trying too hard to get time off.
Trying too hard to build your business. Live instead?
Trying too hard to fit in. Just do your own thing.
Trying too hard is... simply too hard!

So what is it with this hard business that we forget about the soft aspect? If you'd be too soft we would be in a very difference place right now. Yes it might look too pink and marshmellowy and society could slow down to a standstill... we could live in Barbapappa ville before we knew it. However it could be more pleasant. And we might notice what was actually already there.

So... are you trying too hard at the moment and need to mellow out or... did you get too soft to notice?