I heard a statement about Bullying this morning on NPR that makes perfect sense. It’s that a bully is a performer. And what does a performer need? A performer needs an audience. Take away the audience and the bully loses both her power and her incentive.
This allows the possibility for the change to be not just with the bullier and the bullied. It gives those who are bystanders and witnesses power too. Yes, they have the power to say something to the bullier, but that can backfire and cause the bully to turn her attention to the person protesting. But what if those with the bullier simply walk away. What if they decide to not witness it? What then? It allows the bystanders to have power in a way that will not hurt themselves but will still contribute to the bullying being reduced.
Whatever course the bystander takes, it takes courage. But that is important and good that they learn to exhibit courage since it is a character trait everyone badly needs as they enter into adult life.
Drawing by Marty Coleman who has been both in his life.
I didn’t know it when I started but this is an appropo week to be doing a series on Bullying. The documentary movie ‘Bully’ is coming out this week. It is meant to be seen by teens and in schools but the movie rating board gave it an R rating for language. The Weinstein Company, it’s distributor, decided to release it unrated instead. I hope it gets a wide audience, in spite of it being unrated. Here is a trailer for it.
I was having a hard time finding a quote about bullying this morning. There are many good ones but nothing hit me right today. I was browsing around when I finally decided I would click on the ubiquitous Britain’s Got Talent clip that shows a duo on stage. I knew they were singers but I had seen enough of those over the years to know that often times they underwhelm me so I still hadn’t clicked on it. But today I did. Take a look, it’s worth it.
THE CURE
I am not showing it because of the singing, which is indeed magnificent. I am showing it because it is a great example of the best cure for bullying. What is that cure? Love is that cure. Not the idea of love, but the action of love.
Jonathan, overweight all his life, is the object of bullying and teasing. His heart is broken and little pieces of him are taken away each time it happens. Then this one girl in his school sees him deeper than the others. She needs love to see deep. She needs courage to not do what her peers are doing, either neglecting Jonathan or deriding him. They become a duo and took the stage at this competition.
As can be expected (otherwise it wouldn’t be on YouTube) they exceeded expectations. But it’s what Jonathan said that really made the tears flow for me. Simon Cowell said he was great but Charlotte was not and that he would be better off going on in the competition alone. Jonathan replied saying, ‘we came as a duo, we will continue as a duo’. Charlotte’s inner beauty of love had it’s own return at that moment, Jonathan’s best way of showing love back to her.
That to me is the best cure for bullying because, in truth, we will never get rid of bullying. It will never be regulated out of humanity. But we can overcome it with love and that is what this is all about.
Bullieve it or not, it’s day #2 of Bully Week at the NDD
The quote is by Taylor Swift, the singer songwriter. She is young, blonde and cute. She is sometimes seen in the cliche filter those traits bring out, namely that she is weak and fragile. But she is not.
She has a secret weapon to fight back against the haters and the bullies. She uses her creativity and her voice to tell the story of the bully and put him or her on stage for all to see. The bully doesn’t like that.
It may be another week but it’s still the perfect day to continue my perfection series.
Do you know anyone who is perfect? See, proves my point. All perfect people are alone. And all who pretend to be perfect, they end up alone too. Maybe not physically alone, but emotionally and socially they quite likely will be. This will be especially true if they combine their perfection with judgment.
But wasn’t Jesus perfect? Personally I don’t think he was. I think he had imperfect reactions at times. For example, I think he was often annoyed and impatient with his followers (including his mother) instead of being understanding and patient. Realistically, I think he might have been grumpy and short with people if he was too hungry. He seems to have been harsh and a bit mean to whole groups of religious folks (the pharisees come to mind). He certainly was inconsiderate to his parents when he stayed behind in the temple when he should have been with them on the journey home. I think of Jesus as one who moved towards perfection much faster and with more courage than others (especially me) but I don’t think he was perfect.
Are you perfect? Or perhaps you just play a perfect person in real life? Either way you are probably much more alone than you wish to be. It’s not fun being #1 and alone. I bet you will find a lot of loving people ready to support and help you when you allow your honest, imperfect self to show through.
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Drawing, quote and commentary by Marty Coleman, who humbly submits that he has perfected the art of being imperfect.
It’s hard to improve on yesterday’s I know, but here is #3 of Perfectionist week.
I doubt many perfectionists would agree with this. But if you are a perfectionist and you believe in improvement how do you explain your constant belittling of yourself and your efforts while in the very act of improving? You know that you have to not be perfect in order to improve, otherwise you would already have achieved what you were attempting, right? If you believe in improvement in life, work, relationships, hobbies, creativity, art, and more then you should aspire to improve, not to be perfect.
What do you perfectionists think? Do you agree with the quote and with me or do you disagree?
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Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman, who is Wabi Sabi.
It’s a perfect day to give you #2 of my Perfectionist series.
Really? How you stand apart from others, how you are imperfect, brings joy? Sometimes it brings the bad kind of joy that isn’t really joy at all. It’s gossipy, mean-spirited, resentful, entertaining judgment disguised as joy. That is what much of today’s reality TV is based on. Real housewives, top models, bad restaurant and salon owners, locals who aren’t local to your locale, celebrities who wear something odd, anyone who can be seen as displaying what we would never do, wear, say, eat, play or believe. That is the ‘I will look at you, laugh at you and judge you so I can feel better about myself’ sort of joy. If that is what you indulge in, you are not only not doing yourself or your world any favors, you actually are doing damage to yourself and those around you.
So, can how you stand apart, how you are imperfect, bring legitimate joy? Yes, you can obviously bring joy when you are a good example in your imperfection. Maybe overcoming an obstacle, maybe fighting back from a setback. Or perhaps you are a going to only be a vehicle for joy by being a warning to others about how not to proceed in life; not a good example, but a bad example.
By the way, I allowed a few ‘imperfections’ to stay in the drawing, can you find them?
I happened upon a fantastic TED lecture this morning by Brene Brown. It addresses the idea of shame and vulnerability in a very compelling way. And it struck me that it really was addressing the issue of perfectionism and the fear of judgment as well. Find some time today to watch (or just listen to) this 20 minute presentation. It is well worth it and illuminates many ideas that are worth considering. Plus she is funny as all get out.
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Drawing by Marty Coleman, who is ashamed to admit many things.
Quote by Doug Larson, 1926 – not dead yet, American journalist
You know what would be perfect? If I did a series on Perfectionism.
First, a disclaimer. I am not a perfectionist nor do I play one on TV.
A regular reader and commenter on my blog, Agnes, said I should do a series on perfectionism. it was perfect timing for her to say so because I had just finished giving a presentation at the 2nd annual Social Media Tulsa Conference on ‘The Six Stop Signs on Creativity Road’ and one of the stop signs is about perfectionism. As I gave the presentation I wished I had more time to spend on that topic. Now I do.
Let’s start Perfectionism week out with 2 questions to set the stage and get our definitions out there.
What is your definition of perfect?
What, within humankind’s thought and creation, can be, or is, perfect?
I will give my answers in the comments after a while.
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Drawing by Marty Coleman, who thinks Oreos are perfect.
Quote by Winston Churchill, who liked a good cigar.
Here is another in my ongoing series of Writing Lessons. I think I will go to 10 and then the series will be complete. Any good lessons you can think of that I should consider for the final 2?
What does a man coming through a door with a gun do for a story?
It causes anticipation.If you are in doubt about the direction of your story it is likely due to you yourself having lost that anticipation of what is going to happen. So, gun or not, door or not, make something that will cause you feel anticipation about the future of the story and you can guarantee your readers will feel it too.
It causes mortal fear. If you are in doubt about issues you are really dealing with in your story add in the fear of death and it will clarify your thinking on your reasons for writing the story. It will also clarify the course of the story for the reader.
It causes anger. Someone is about to violate one of the prime tenets of civilization, respecting other people’s right to their life. What is causing this person to reach that point in life? Or what is causing the person to protect others from that threat?
It causes humor. Nothing is more absurd than seeing a man or woman out of their comfort zone. Put the gun in the hand of a pageant queen or a elitist intellectual who has never seen a gun before and it could get pretty funny.
It obviously doesn’t have to be a man with a gun. But when it doubt, think about what might reignite anticipation, fear, anger or humor in yourself and the reader and you will be well on your way to clarifying your doubting thoughts.
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Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman, who last fired a gun while skeet shooting as a teenager.
While I am attending and speaking at Social Media Tulsa I thought I would post selections from my ‘Networking’ series that I drew in 2011.
Ok, so I am speaking at the 2012 Social Media Tulsa Conference today. I am not too worried about the information I let out while I am there. I don’t drink so it’s not likely I will get drunk and say something stupid. Then again, I can say stupid things while totally sober. But I do have information to give, that is why I am speaking there. And I don’t want all of that information to get out beforehand, at least not in it’s complete form, until I am ready to present it. Some is good, but all would diminish my presentation and I don’t want that.
But for me to have a successful trip it will come down to editing my information. Not just my presentation information, but ALL my information. Is what I am talking about while I am at SMTulsa going to be focused or is it going to be just a big hot mess of whatever. Am I going to be on plan, on target while I am there, trying to learn and help others learn or am I going to be distracted in both my commmunication and in who and what I pay attention to? I don’t mean I will not allow serendipity and casual conversation, of course I will. but I don’t want to spend an hour talking about some digital tool I have no intention or ability to use just because they are giving away something shiny. I don’t want to forget why I am there and what my goals are.
I don’t want to be pissing into the wind.
Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman of The Napkin Dad Daily
Quote by Keith Henson, 1942-not dead yet, American electrical Engineer and founder of the L5 Society – promoting of space colonization.
I am off to the Social Media Tulsa Conference today and tomorrow. I drew this series originally right before going to Blog World in LA in 2011. They fit perfectly once again as I network here in Oklahoma.
I am not a blogging superstar. I am a blogger, and I do have plenty who read and follow the NDD but I am not a superstar in the national blogging community. But I am going to be at Social Media Tulsa and in Tulsa I get a fair amount of publicity for myself. Some people will know who I am and I won’t know who they are. But there are some bigger names who will be there whom I follow on twitter and Facebook, read their blog and generally think are pretty awesome. I will introduce myself to them and if I am lucky they might have noticed I like a lot of their photos or tend to say interesting things in their comment section. It’s just as likely they won’t know who I am at all.
In the world of networking it’s critical to realize that networking goes on about you even when you aren’t there. Do you say dopey or belligerent things on people’s blogs? Do you force transparent personal advertising on people? Do you have an agenda for every conversation, every interaction? Then guess what? People may indeed know you by knowing of you. And what they know, well before they meet you in person, will not be favorable.
If you want to have people know and care you in the networking world you have to care about knowing them, not just having them know you.
Drawing (originally posted Nov. 2012) and commentary by Marty Coleman
I drew the napkins I am going to post over the next few days back in October when I spoke at Blog World in Los Angeles. I thought they would be appropriate to post again for the people attending Social Media Tulsa this week, where I am speaking.
It’s such a well understood idea that it is a cliche: You must cultivate relationships in networking to get ahead. I agree with it, as far as it goes. The problem is it doesn’t go far enough. It is not enough to collect contacts like so many vegetables at harvest time. For me to feel and be successful at networking I want to transform my private garden into a community teaching garden.
I have many areas where I need the expertise of other gardeners in the Social Media world. Wordpress, twitter, publishing, database development, monetizing, you name it, I need help with it. But I also have some expertise as well; art, design, writing, content creation, If I want my fellow gardeners to help me in my areas of need then I need to be willing to help them in theirs.
But wait, isn’t that what I am doing by speaking at these conferences? Yes, it is what I am doing and I am very hopeful my session, Six Stop Signs on Creativity Road (Friday 2:15 pm) will be of great benefit to many. But my session is going to last an hour. With people talking to me after (if I am lucky), maybe another 45 minutes. The Social Media Tulsa conference lasts 2 days. Am I going to single-mindedly pursue harvesting from other people’s garden during the other 46 hours or am I going to set in my mind that I am in a community garden where I will look for opportunities to plant encouragement, motivation, inspiration, knowledge and friendship in at least equal portion to what I harvest for myself?
I like a community garden.
Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman, The Napkin Dad
We are getting into contemporary artists now and we also are moving away from painting and drawing. Here is one of the artists that most inspire me and keep me looking for joy and wonder in the world, Andy Goldsworthy.
Andy Goldsworthy – Dandelions and Hole
Goldsworthy is a British artist who works exclusively with nature and natural elements. He explores his environment and takes from it, creating all his pieces using only what the environment provides. That includes the binding elements that keep the pieces together. Usually those binding elements consist of stems, ice, grass, or just gravity.
Andy Goldsworthy – Boulder Covered in Green and Yellow leaves
Here is what it’s all about for me: One of my favorite joys in the world is turning the corner in life and discovering the unexpected before me. It might be a woman with a cool hat, it might be a funny looking stick on the ground, it doesn’t really matter. I just love the joy I feel at that moment. Can you imagine taking a walk in the forest and seeing this at the edge of a creek without knowing it was there? Not knowing how it could exist? Goldsworthy takes me to that place artistically more than any other artist. His pieces can be happened upon by unsuspecting folk. It’s the most elemental of artmaking and I love that.
Andy Goldsworthy – Gold Banded Tree
Andy Goldsworthy – Stone Circle Gray
Goldsworthy – Rocks and Sticks
Andy Goldsworthy – Green to Yellow Leaves
Andy Goldsworthy – Stone and Tree
Andy Goldsworthy – Winding Wall in Winter
Andy Goldsworthy – Pink Wall
His output is extraordinary. I have only seen one of his pieces in person and that was with my daughter Rebekah at the National Museum of Art in Washington D.C.
Andy Goldsworthy – Roof
His work is ephemeral in that none of it is built to last. The pieces either float away, melt, disintegrate, fall down or otherwise go away. His museum installations aren’t permanent either.If you would like to see more of his work the best way is to get his books, he has published many. I have the book called ‘Stone’ and it’s beautiful. He has a movie you can find online or on Netflix called ‘Rivers and Tides’ that is well worth watching.
1, 2, and 3 are past, so that makes this day #4 of History Lesson Week.
INFURIATIONS This sentiment, ‘every past is worth condemning’, probably infuriates you as it did me when I first read it. I am often the one in arguments about history to defend the past era and the decisions made then. I don’t mean I approve of them, obviously I would not make many of the same decisions now. But that’s the point; I am in the present, not the past. Just as you have to take into consideration the age and mental capacity of your child when you react to what they say and do, you must do the same for the people of the past. They knew what they knew and as a result they said and did thing based on that knowledge, not based on our knowledge. So, I typically am against condemning the past, even if we now can say we don’t approve of the actions they took.
But after reading this simple sentence over a number of times I am starting to see the value in it. By condemning the past and how they acted we are saying that we have learned, we have grown, we have gone beyond their understanding. That of course can be a two-edged sword. Not all knowledge from the past is wrong and often we find ourselves as a society moving back to past practices because we have found that our ‘progress’ really wasn’t so progressive. But plenty of knowledge from that past is worth condemning.
RATIONALIZATIONS We don’t need to reexamine if slavery is something we should bring back. It has been condemned as wrong and we will not return to it. We don’t need to investigate if the subjugation of women is something we want to reinstitute. We know they are equal to the male of the species in every way and we are not going to return to the days of them being condemned to a lesser life. We condemn that attitude and any and all rationalizations, however valid they may have seemed at some point in the past. We know now they are not valid and we will not let them be used again.
THE PAST AS PRESENT The last point about women brings us to a dilemma. The past isn’t always in the past. We have subjugation of women going on all over the globe as I write this today. They are not allowed to vote, to drive, to own property, to have their own money, to participate as an equal member of society. The societies that are perpetrating this are still using the same arguments we once used not so long ago (don’t forget, less than 100 years ago women did not have the right to vote in the USA).
We can also find it with us today in the US and other supposedly enlightened western countries. You don’t have to go much farther than the headlines of the last week over Rush Limbaugh’s disgusting statements about one woman in particular (and be inference virtually all women in the US) to know we still have a long way to go to move past some of those same rationalizations we thought we had left behind.
Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman of The Napkin Dad Daily
Quote by Friedrich Nietzsche, 1844-1900, German philosopher
Don’t get distracted, not while it’s only day #3 of History Lesson Week!
I sometimes get distracted easily. I work at home so it might be like today where I heard a bang up in the attic. Investigating I found that a christmas box had compressed a box below it, sliding down enough for a box on top of it to fall off. Nothing harmed and I was thankful it wasn’t a raccoon or alien, or alien raccoon.
But while I was up there rearranging it I noticed another box in a funny place so I moved it. I also brought up some empty boxes and made room for them, then I came down into the kitchen and wanted coffee and realized my milk is almost gone which I was going to replace with a new carton yesterday but was distracted on my way home from running by the report on the radio which I switched to during a commercial that I was going to switch back to the other station but forgot and while in the kitchen I noticed the dogs want to go out and while letting them out I realized the wind had blown stuff around so I picked that stuff up and then I realized I needed to get the mail and put the trash out for pick up and then I wanted a snack and then I remembered to get back to my office and start writing this a half an hour later but when I got back I had an image in a directory showing and I remembered I needed to edit it which I did and while I did that I realized I forgot my coffee in the kitchen and then decided to change shoes and then I wrote this.
Luckily the merging of my character and circumstances didn’t lead to a nuclear holocaust or falling down a sewer pipe. But it could in the future so I really need to get a grip on this attention span thing, which I will right after I go get milk…
Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman, who just saw a pretty bird in the back yard.
Quote by Donald Creigh….oh wait, TWO pretty birds!
Historically speaking, it’s day #2 of History Lesson Week at the NDD.
Why are histories about the same era written again and again? Gibbon’s wrote a multi-volume history of the Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire. Why isn’t that enough, why more books on the same topic? Why so many books about Lincoln, World War II, the American revolution, China, technology, wars? Why is there such a long history of histories? Because our prejudices are fluid over the generations and our histories will always be updated to fit our prejudices.
What are our historical and present day prejudices? Just ask yourself what you believe in and that will tell you. The belief might blind you to the truth, as is the case in certain branches of Islam or Christianity where they do whatever they can to keep women down. They go so far as to create and then perpetuate gargantuan lies under the guise of history to validate and support their prejudices against women being equal. They are driven by fear and they call it ‘truth’.
I read a synopsis of Hegel’s idea of ‘the Dialectic’ yesterday. No, I don’t really understand it, and no I haven’t ever read his actual work. (Ask my daughter Rebekah if you want to talk to someone who has actually read it and understood it). I read it in a book called ‘Eureka! – What Archimedes Really Meant and 80 Other Key Ideas Explained.’ It essentially is this: Thesis, Antithesis and Synthesis. We start with an idea, the opposite of the idea comes up to challenge it and eventually the two ideas combine to some degree to create a synthesis, a new idea. That idea/thesis in turn is the starting point for a new antithesis to challenge it and on it goes.
That is how we can see our fluid history. A way of looking at a series of events is put forth, let’s say about the American Civil War. Someone writes a book saying it was fought over slavery. Then someone else challenges that it was about slavery and writes that it was instead about state’s rights. A third person writes another book that says it was about both. That leads to yet another book that says it was about neither but instead was about cotton. And on and on it goes. The positive side to the idea of the dialectic is that it should lead to ever increasing knowledge and understanding. In practice, while I do believe we make some progress in society and life, I also believe that fear and vested interests keep society and individuals from moving forward towards a better life for all.
Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman, who would always choose ‘history’ on Jeopardy!
Quote by Mark Twain, who was born 4 years after Hegel died.
I skipped last week because I was on the road visiting our daughter at Baylor in Texas. This week we resume with another great California painter, Wayne Theibaud.
Wayne Thiebaud – Lipstick – 1964
You probably know Thiebaud’s work as a west coast variant of Pop art. And indeed, it is all about the Pop. But funny enough, his inspiration to become a master of the rich, sensuous application of paint came from one of his best friends, Willem De Kooning, the premier Abstract Expressionist of the 50s and beyond.
Thiebaud – Ice Cream
It might appear to be about the subject, Ice Cream. But look close and it’s just as much about the thick lusciousness of the paint. the brilliant saturation of color and the beautiful richness in the shadows. I learned all about color and shading by studying Thiebaud’s drawings and paintings. Do you see any gray or black in the shadows? No, and you won’t ever see those colors. His shadowed areas are the most brilliantly colored of his paintings.
Thiebaud – Nude Woman in Purple Hat
Thiebaud didn’t do many nudes that have made it into the public sphere, but I love the few that have. This one in particular is exquisite. I love the brilliant, rich orange shaded area on the right of her breast and the periwinkle blue squiggle that is both shadow and reflection on her arm. Best of all is how he anchors her to the edge of the canvas by using the perfect ellipse of the hat shadow on the right.
Thiebaud – Bird
Thiebaud – City – Drawing
And of course, since I am primarily a draftsman more than a painter you know I would likely find that his drawings are incredible as well, and so they are. The texture and richness are just out of this world.
Thiebaud – Landscape
Thiebaud – Steep City
Thiebaud – Ocean City – 2007
Most of America, if they know of Thiebaud at all, know of his cakes, ice cream and other luscious dessert paintings. But it wasn’t until I saw his cityscapes and landscapes that I understood what a brilliant artist he was. Just as we saw with Diebenkorn (a friend of his), Thiebaud kept growing as an artist. he became a professor at UC Davis in the Sacramento River Delta area. The landscape of rivers and farms and small towns became a focus of his work. He was also not far from San Francisco with it’s incredible hills and city scenes. Both enthralled him.
Thiebaud – New Yorker cover – 2011
If you ever want to see his work, it’s usually on the cover of the New Yorker magazine a number of times a year. It’s one of the reasons I subscribe.
Woman in a Wayne Thiebaud Painting
You might be wondering, who is this woman and why am I putting her in this post? We visited Cape Cod in 2009 and as the sun set we had dinner at a harbor restaurant on Martha’s Vineyard. The sun was hitting the hostess just right and I considered asking her if I could take her picture. Then I saw the Wayne Thiebaud painting in the background and that sealed the deal. I asked and she said yes. What you say? They had a Thiebaud painting in the restaurant? No, the world had BECOME a Thiebaud painting right before my eyes. The rich, bright, beautiful color of sunlight with the cool deep blues and green shadows all perfectly combined in geometric and curvilinear glory took my breath away.
One of the best, most precious benefits of loving and studying art is that it will forever allow you to see art in the real world. It is never not there, you only have to look for it. Where do you find art?
It’s not GREAT to say it, but it’s the end of Humility Week at the NDD.
Quote by Kanye West
Dear Mr. West,
Yes, that is exactly what America wants you to do.
It is confusing, I know. You get messages from every self-help guru of the last 100 years to excel, to be great. You are shown images, videos, books and TV showing people being great. You are told stories of people overcoming incredible odds to become great. You are encouraged to be great by your mother, by your father. Your teachers tell you you can be great.
You go out into the world and pursue your dream. Those capable of influencing that dream; those who could hire you, fire you, produce you, promote you, direct you, invest in you, pay you – they all encourage you to be great. They all praise you when you are great. The people following you; your fans, critics, fellow artists, they all say you are great. You become one of those people who are used as an example of someone who overcame to become great. You are a poster child for becoming great.
Then you make the mistake. Then you do the worst thing you could possibly do. Then you say you are great.
Why can’t you say that? Didn’t the entire world do everything in its power every step of the way in your life to tell you that you could be great and praise you when you did become great? How could it then be wrong to say you are great?
Here’s why: Because in traditional, historic America the most important aspect of being great is being humble. The final proof of greatness is in the great person not being aware of it. Just as the final proof someone is a hero is when they say ‘I am not a hero’. Just as the worst thing a beautiful woman can ever say is ‘I am beautiful’.
Where did this come from? Look no further than the pew. While in every other aspect of American culture we are told to be great, in church we are told we can never be great. We can’t be great because we are fallen, because we sinned, because we have evil in us. We can aspire to be better people, but it is not approved to go too far. Going too far means you have pride. Pride goeth before the fall. If you have pride in yourself you do not understand your true nature. You do not recognize that you are a fallen, debased creature unable to redeem yourself. Trying to be great means you are trying to do that. SAYING you are great means you think you did it, and on your own. And doing it on your own of course means you do not need God. And there is no worse sin than thinking that.
Truth? I think it has often been gigantic, manipulative untruth that has been told in the sanctuary. I think arguments about pride and humility and being fallen have been used as a weapon to keep people, genders, classes and races in their ‘proper’ place. And it has been successful in doing so. I am always happy when I see that element be exposed for the evil it is.
But here is another truth. There is something to be said for understanding self. And understanding self, TRULY understanding self, means you know that you have SOME greatness in you and you have SOME work still do to. It means you understand that you did not achieve this greatness on your own, and that you need to acknowledge and give recognition to those who have helped you on your way. It means you know that it can be taken away from you.
But most of all, over all other things, you should know that no matter how great you become in the eyes of the world seeing you at a distance, it is how you display greatness to those right in front of you that matters most. It is how you love your child, your wife, your husband, your parent. It is how you minister and care to those who depend on you, those who mentor you, those who need you.
When you do that, when you are that, then you won’t be thinking about telling the world you are great. You will just be. And you will be happy and humble when you find others telling the world that you are instead you having to tell the world yourself.
I fancy myself a pretty good thinker. But considering almost all my napkin drawings start with a quote that I myself did not make up, it would be disingenuous of me to say I come up with nothing but original ideas.
However, I do like to think I am unique thinker. A unique thinker isn’t someone who thinks up something out of the blue. Instead it is someone who takes these ideas from others and combines them, mixes them, bakes them into a uniquely stated idea. Not necessarily a new idea, but an idea that has been thought through by one unique individual and come out the other side with something no one else can give it, the perspective and expression of that one person.
I think a lot of young people who are unformed in their own identity don’t understand what this means. I see it all the time on reality TV shows like American Idol. The judges say to the young person, ‘you have to just be yourself’ or ‘you have to put your own spin on it’ or ‘you just need to find your own voice’. And the least mature of the singers look blankly back at the judges, having no idea what it is they are talking about. They don’t know yet how to take another idea, (another song in this case) and make it their own because there is no ‘own’ there yet. They are doing their best to imitate a great singer but they don’t know yet how to become a great singer themselves.
The originality of your ideas isn’t what you should have pride in. It is what should endow you with humility. How you take what is given to you from the outside and transform it into something uniquely yours, THAT is what you can have true pride in.
Drawing by Marty Coleman, who reads in bed.
Quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson, who also read in bed.
