BLOGSERVATIONS

It’s the simple things, you know? Making lunch. The simple, personal rewards we kinda look forward to that make us happy. But how does it feel to make lunch if you weren’t looking forward to it? I mean, if you were just sitting around waiting to make lunch that lunch might not be as rewarding than if you were busy all morning, accomplishing things, and then took a break to make lunch. You follow me?

Thomas Edison is quoted as saying, “There is no substitute for hard work.” And Voltaire is quoted as saying, “The biggest reward for a thing well done is to have done it.”

Yeah, but then we can still have lunch! This veers slightly off topic, but one of my favorite quotes is this from biologist —Dr. James Watson:

I don’t think we’re here for anything, we’re just products of evolution. You can say ‘Gee, your life must be pretty bleak if you don’t think there’s a purpose’ but I’m anticipating a good lunch.

I like making lunch.
I don’t do it everyday, but there is something to be said for routine. A routine gives us a regular schedule of things we can look forward to.

Typically we look forward to things we enjoy, so it stands to reason that our routines also include periods of work; chores or tasks we must do to earn a living or keep the house and our lives in order. Face it, what the hell have we got to look forward to if we do nothing with our time?

During our routine, on a daily level, we look forward to lunch after cranking on stuff for the first half of the work day. The second half of the day we keep busy until it’s time to head home. On a weekly level we might look forward to happy hour on Friday, or make plans for dinner out with friends.

Idle hands are the Devil’s tools…
The things we look forward to are like bonuses for a job well done, an earned reward. In order to reap these simple bonuses in life we must be productive. Sit around like a lump and you’ll have nothing to look forward to, except maybe getting off your ass to go sit somewhere else.

I don’t believe in the Devil, but I do believe that a busy mind, and the connected busy hands, are more likely to keep themselves out of trouble and less likely to get caught up in petty dramas and nonsense. There’s also more potential for success for the busy person.

Why lunch?
My father has a routine, even in his retired years he has a routine, and he looks forward to making his lunch, at a specific time. My parents are, even in their retirement, busy, productive people, reaping the rewards of productive professional lives, and now reaping the rewards of retirement. They diligently pursue their daily routines and looking forward to those little things that make them happy.

Flying by the ass of your pants, as I’ve heard it said, being spontaneous, can have its rewards but I find that there is a kind of security in routine. Use a routine to stay on track and let the spontaneity occur as a bonus.

We kinda need a plan. A completely spontaneous life would have no bounds, no control. A graceful, routine flight, with some fun, can seem boundless. Just watch the birds play, between nest building…

Wisdom eludes me. The more I learn, the less I think I know. Maybe it’s because when I learn something new I realize how much more there is to know. And by that I mean, how much we can know, not how much we must know. It’s perpetual. I strive to learn more everyday but sometimes I feel I don’t know enough.

But wisdom is not just knowledge. It isn’t how many books you’ve read or how many degrees you have. Wisdom cannot be learned by just reading, it must be gained and gathered through life. Wisdom collects, and is gained from experience and consideration. No matter how much you try, you won’t become wise just learning stuff.

Wisdom is found in the application of knowledge, the awareness that comes from the analysis of our world and life, through learning and experiencing.

Think deeper. When you toss a stone into a pond you’re immediately aware of the ripples and the splash, but it doesn’t stop there. Even though your mind forgets the stone because it’s gone from sight, the stone continues its journey to the bottom of the pond. We can think
about the stuff we can’t see.

When we’re seeking knowledge we shouldn’t skim the surface and ignore the lessons within the lessons. The deeper considerations are where wisdom hides. Things we learn on one subject may intersect with points of another subject, we need to examine those connections. Even
if the connections are not obvious at first, once made, the proverbial light bulb goes on and we’re one step closer.

Gain: Increasing the level by increasing the amplitude.

Depth. More than a little. Wisdom is gained. It’s about what lies beyond the zero point in a wavelength. It’s looking toward the outside, while looking in.

Here are some suggested books for further reading on the subject of wisdom:
Wisdom: Its Nature, Origins, and Development
Wisdom: From Philosophy to Neuroscience
Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ
Buddha’s Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love, and Wisdom

Sadly, only one month after resigning as President of Apple Computer, Steve Jobs has passed away. He was 56.

A Steve Jobs biography, written by Walter Isaacson, was released in October of 2011. Isaacson interviewed friends, enemies, relatives, colleagues and competitors, as well as Jobs himself, creating a most comprehensive view of the clever, and often abrasive man who changed the world with his products, ideas and inspiration.

I’m 44 years old at the time of this writing, and I still remember my first computer, an Apple ][+. My father bought me that computer when I was about 14 years old. We subscribed to a little magazine called CALL -A.P.P.L.E. which was loaded with BASIC program code, and I would write programs on that computer day and night, when I wasn't in school, or playing my guitar.

When Apple introduced the Macintosh, a little app called HyperCard became popular, and I began building "stacks" as they were called, making my own little mini applications and games. I also spent a lot of time using MacPaint.

I didn't get it at the time, but later would come to respect and admire the man behind Apple, and I would start to make connections between what I do now, and what I spent so much time doing as a teen. I still work and play on my computer, now a MacBook Pro, as a graphic artist, web site developer, and musician.

Steve said, "...you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future."

When I look back I see that is true. Thanks to HyperCard the web site concept was easy for me to grasp. MacPaint of course led to PhotoShop, one of my other design tools, and Apple's Logic Studio allows me to use my Apple computer to record my music, my guitar, and design with sound. I have literally grown up with Apple, and can connect those dots.

Steve Jobs was a mysterious figure to me. In those early days my father would speak of him with a sort of reverence and awe, as if Steve were some amazing, forward-thinking visionary. As a teen I didn't so much wonder what it was all about as much as I just got the vibe, and understood what was known: Here is a man with some amazing ideas that will change everything.

Steve did change everything. Apple changed everything. Steve Jobs and Apple rearranged the playing field and continuously took us to new places with technology. They have enabled us with intuitively designed machines that have made, and make, our lives easier. Steve also inspired, and provided creative people around the world with tools that seem to directly connect to the artist within. They have opened doors for creative people worldwide.

I found this quote of his very inspiring. And it brings tears to my eyes.

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life,” Jobs said. “Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

His computers allow me to express myself as an artist. And his words inspire me to continue following my heart and intuition. I'm an artist and a musician. I need to keep doing these things and let the dots connect ahead of me.

Thank you Steve, for everything you've done. You will be missed.

A short note: After emailing my father a link to this post he replied with an interesting story, one I never knew...

"Don't know if I ever told you but I met Jobs and Wozniak at the Philadelphia Computer Show in 1977. They had a small table in a corner showing off the Apple I. [a couple of my friends] and I chatted with them for a while. They introduced the Apple I in Atlantic City in 1976.”

We don’t like to conform, but we’re going to get hitched anyway. And in true nonconformist form, my girlfriend, Cindy, told me she didn’t want a diamond ring for our engagement. I had to think of something else. But what? I found just the right thing, it wasn’t a ring, and it had been staring me in the face the whole time. Ribbit.

I thought it was a novel idea. (novel: “of a new kind; different from anything seen or known before”) so I went with it. It certainly wasn’t the traditional approach (tradition: “a long-established or inherited way of thinking or acting.”) But then, aside from Christmas and Halloween, I’ve never been much for tradition anyway. I’ll get to the novel idea in a minute…

What’s this about a frog? It goes like this:

One day, my girlfriend, Cindy, and I were unpacking some things during our move into a new house. Each of our lives had been upturned for a time, and starting a new life together was refreshing, although challenging.

That day she found a rubber tree frog in a box of stuff she had forgotten about. A blueish colored frog, cute. It was a gift from a friend of hers, given during a time when Cindy was starting to believe that she would be alone for the rest of her life. The note attached to the frog read something to the effect of “don’t worry, you’ll find your prince.”

Cindy laughed when she found it, and told me the whole story with a huge smile on her face. I liked the sentiment, and the frog. It was a reminder to Cindy that something will happen, and things will be okay. And at that moment the frog took on a meaning for me as well. It became something that represented a bond between us. It became special.

I took the frog and informed her that we’d be keeping it because it had meaning for us. I don’t consider myself a prince by any stretch of the imagination, but neither of us were alone anymore, and the frog was a symbol of that. It was staying.

The frog became a little game, and began appearing in the most unexpected places. One morning I opened the medicine cabinet to grab my toothbrush and there it sat staring at me. So I cleverly stowed it someplace where I knew Cindy would stumble upon it. Later that week it would be waiting for me again somewhere else, and the game went on, and continues to this day.

So, what’s this novel idea I had?

After about three years of dating Cindy and I began to discuss plans for marriage. We were apprehensive, especially since we’d both been burned by previous relationships. We also don’t feel that marriage is a necessity, it’s just something people are expected to do. It seems that long term, committed relationships are not taken seriously unless the couple is wed.

In any case, we decided that we would like to get married — in the legal sense, not the religious sense — as a way to officially establish our bond of love. There is also this ridiculous feeling that getting married might somehow cheapen or jinx the true love we do feel for each other. Sort of like, “we’re happy now, why get married and ruin it?” It’s a good thing we’re not superstitious.

Now for the details, and the novel idea. If we we’re to get married, we need to be engaged first. That means we need a ring or something. Well, Cindy didn’t want a ring so I had to think of something else to serve as a symbol of our union. Here comes my novel idea.

I decided to get her a necklace, but, what kind of necklace? Of course… A FROG necklace!

I shopped around for a sterling silver frog pendant and found the perfect one. A little tree frog that looked very similar to our rubber frog mascot. I kept it hidden so Cindy wouldn’t find it, and waited for the right moment to pop the question.

It was actually kind of fun. We had plans to visit my family in North Carolina, so I decided I would ask her during that trip. Initially I was going to ask her on the beach, but decided to wait until the moment was just right.

So one beautiful day in North Carolina, on the dock of a little place called The Provision Company, located in South Port, on the Intracoastal Waterway near the mouth of the Cape Fear River, I asked Cindy to marry me. I opened the box and showed her the necklace. She loved it, and beamed with happiness as I placed the little silver frog around her neck. It was nice, and special, just as I had hoped. And you know something? It felt right. It felt real.

I know that many people will think it’s odd that I bought her a necklace instead of a diamond ring, but I don’t really care. All that matters to me is our happiness together. Isn’t it nice to do things your own way once in awhile, and thwart tradition?

In a previous post I pondered the power of precious moments and memories. It was a not completely succinct or focused piece, but then, my writings rarely are. I tend to drift, but most of the time stay relatively on topic. In that post I talked about being “in the moment” and the saying, “wherever you go, there you are.”

It is a popular phrase, and can prompt philosophical discussion from any number of angles. As a result of writing that post, and thinking of that phrase from time to time since, it morphed into something that has a whole other meaning, and can serve as inspiration to go and do, instead of stay and don’t.

“Wherever you are, there you go.” Though I’m sure others have said it from time to time, or thought of it, a google search revealed no official use of this particular phrase, so I’ll take credit for it

This variation seems more positive than the other. While the first phrase can be a token phrase of self-awareness, and a reminder of just how small each of us is in the grand scheme of things, it seems to be spoken often in a tone that hints at a futile effort. I dunno, maybe I’m getting that wrong, but it just seems to me like many people take it to mean “oh well, what are you gonna do?”

Flipping the phrase to “wherever you are, there you go” seems to open a door to possibilities, not a just reflection on some seemingly mundane existence. Our existence may seem ordinary at times, but self awareness is an amazing feat of evolution unique to few species. Likewise, the need for discovery, self-improvement, and achievement are also traits brought to us through evolution, but apparently they are unique to humans.

Isn’t it better to think “what can I do next?”

Take one step and, wherever you are, there you go.