Author: MAÔ

I often wonder what shape this blog should take. Even though I sometimes let it morph into what it wants before realizing that it’s gotten away from me. For my part, I just like writing. It helps me focus my thoughts. In my head, they go quickly, all over the place, down winding roads and up Escher staircases.

But where is it heading…

Going through a stack of notes, and not sure what has made its way onto the blog and what was just early stage thoughts. I’m sometimes very good about keeping track, and other times, not so much.

I periodically sift through, seeing what it was I was thinking about at a certain time. Where my head was at. Because, even now, I feel an overriding need for direction in my life – direction which I may or may not currently possess. 

But isn’t that true of most everyone?

Seth Godin once wrote that we may have a supply, but it doesn’t mean that there’s necessarily a demand. That could be a supply of capital, or intellect, or a product, point-of-view, etc.

So of you’re sitting there, thinking how to drum up demand for your supply (whatever it happens to be), the first question you’d better answer is whether you yourself would want it. Because if the answer is no, you’re probably going back to the drawing board. 

There’s a certain level of commitment needed to maintain a practice. This can be a writing practice, or sports, exercise, relationship-building, whatever. The simple act of showing up is often enough to get the ball rolling. 

I’ve written a lot about routines, scheduling, time management, and organization. Trying to create a life worth living.

As I write this now, I’m looking at where I’m at personally, professionally, and geographically. Where I’m at in the world. I look around to the issues facing us – all of us. 

That’s to say, I’m not sure where this is going. Where my writing will take me, and how my work will shape it. How the world around me might end up shaping it. 

But I know that maintaining this is an important first step.

We are vessels, giving of ourselves. It’s human nature to provide, in one sense or another, and it’s something most, if not all of us, relish.

Of course, it’s easy to exhaust the supply. Exhaust ourselves. If we’re not caring for our self, how can we care for others? 
From time to time, it’s important to step away. To refill the cup.

There’s a lot to be said for friendship. Having people around you that you care about, and who care about you in return, is incredibly important. It’s satisfying, it’s stimulating, and it’s exponentially rewarding.

It can also be a bit of a challenge at times. 

I heard once that most people will stop making new friends after they graduate (either from college or, should they not attend college, high school). 

The possibility for work friends exists, as do members of social groups, churches, multiple-participant hobbies, etc… But these are exceptions, and not the norm. 

Not looking so much at how to make friends, though, but how to be a friend – and how to accept someone’s friendship in return. You would naturally think that it would be easy. Two people who share some common interest(s), enjoying talking with each other and spending time together, a mutual understanding should grow and become comfortable, thus cementing a friendship. 

And yet, so many adult friendships (or friendships that could be), seem to fizzle out or disappear. Probably not from any lack of fondness, or even a lack of trying. But the basis of friendship is communication. Without communication, friendship will fall apart. 

I feel that the most successful people are the ones who can focus the bulk of their attention on the task at hand. An unwavering attention to what matters most. A driving force towards that pot of gold at the ned of the rainbow.

Those whose interests frequently shift, they struggle more. They may work as hard, or harder, than those with a singular vision, but being spread to then, their dreams may never come to fruition.

Looking out the window, letting my mind wander, gazing up at a sun-splashed mountain. (or is it a hill? I’m never sure.) These are the moments when the mind can free itself from the everyday bonds of necessity. Of requirement. Rather, it should be a requirement to free your mind, and it is necessary to let things go from time to time.

That’s a bit of a ramble, but sometimes it’s what the mind does when it wanders. It wanders, it rambles, it moves from side to side, playing leapfrog with ideas and topics – never focusing on one for long, or, maybe, too long, which can only aggravate and annoy. 

The mind is a supple creation, and it needs downtime to enjoy its suppleness. To revel in the frivolity of thinking just for thought’s sake – not to discover, or contemplate, or decide. Just to think. 

A wandering mind.

We’re told from a young age not to let your mind wander. But why? Out at the periphery, that’s where the best ideas live! They don’t come wandering into the light, asking you to find them. They’d prefer to remain hidden away, coquettishly batting their “eyes”, enticing you out of your comfortable spaces. Ideas, the best ideas, are like love letters from the other side. 

So, yes, let your mind wander. Enjoy the unfocused gaze at something that you find beautiful. And don’t trouble yourself with the moment-to-moment productiveness. Explore the outer reaches, and see what sorts of ideas you may find living there. 

I’ve been digging into streaming services a bit. With or without the launch of CNN+, the market is saturated with providers and their content. Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Apple+, etc. The list isn’t short by any stretch of the imagination.

Is it more than we can watch? Oh, absolutely! But does it fill a need?

The question isn’t if it’s for everyone. The question is, is there someone (or someones) who will want to watch? As we add more and more streaming content to our internet bandwidth, it’s only a matter of time before we find out where the tipping point actually is.

Life is a long line of the unknowable. It surprises, upsets, beguiles, upends, and amazes. When we get up each and every morning (or whenever we roll out of bed), the day makes no promises other than, “I am here.”

So what you do, how you do it, the mental acuity you bring to each day – these things change. How well you do something, or recall what you knew, or learn and acquire new information – it can be different from day to day.

But just like that promise, “I am here,” so too should you be.