September 22, 2023

Cat’s Meow – Book Edition: Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman

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a purple watercolor cat is wearing glasses and reading a book with a cup of tea by its side

Just popping in to recommend the book Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman.
It’s not like any other time management book I’ve read – there are no ‘tips’ or ‘tricks’ to exercise while cooking dinner or write a book while running a marathon. It’s more about recognizing that we have limited time and tough decisions need to be made about what is going to get done and what isn’t. It’s helped me focus on what’s important in my creative pursuits but also life in general.

This book is a part of the reason I’ve been pretty quiet here on my website – it really changed how I look at my creative work and I’ve been (slowly) more productive in the things that are truly important to me. One of my biggest lessons from the book is not to try to do too many things at once. I have so many creative projects and I used to think that if I touched each one that I was somehow still making progress on all of them at once. But that wasn’t the case and this book helped me to see the truth of that. Now I am actually making measurable, exciting progress on the children’s book I’ve wanted to write for years.

Unfortunately, this means that my comics, which I was really using as drawing practice for the children’s book, have intentionally fallen by the wayside. As has my music creation. And my other writing projects. Sometimes the hardest decision is choosing between two things we REALLY want to do. One day, I’ll have time again for my other creative pursuits and I look forward to that day. But for now, I am enjoying getting closer and closer to my goal of publishing my picture book.

May 19, 2020

Cat’s Meow: Mary Oliver Poems

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One of my dear friends recently wrote me a letter (for you younguns, that’s a really long text on paper) and she included with it a lovely poem by Mary Oliver:

The Uses of Sorrow
(In my sleep I dreamed this poem)

Someone I loved once gave me
a box full of darkness.

It took me years to understand
that this, too, was a gift.

Unbeknownst to my friend, I had had an entire afternoon of cleansing, freeing crying and this letter with this beautiful poem by one of my favorite poets arrived that evening.

I know a lot of people don’t like poetry or don’t get it. However, I think that poetry, like music, is something that’s deeply personal and sometimes it takes a while to find the style you like. I read many poems as part of my high school education and I disliked a lot of them. But every now and again, I would read one that felt as if it was speaking directly to me.

My favorite poetry is often succinct and reflects the truth of life back to me. I can garner the same lesson from a well crafted poem as I can from a well-written, multi-million dollar, two hour movie. Poems, simply put, are stories, real or imagined, that like any other art form, reflect life back to us and, oftentimes, help us to change, grow or return to that which is our deepest joy.

Poetry can be raw, sweet, clever, life-affirming or speak to the secret and not-so-secret aches that live within all of this. For some, reading poetry can be a spiritual experience – a supplement to their weekly religion or a full replacement. For others, it’s a constant wake up call and challenge to grow. And for others still, it’s a reminder of what makes life life. Poetry often leaves no place to hide and no stone unturned. In its presence, pretense and illusions fall away…and that is why I love it.

May 11, 2020

Cat’s Meow: Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist

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I just have to take a moment to gush about one of my new favorite TV shows: Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist. It’s quirky and musical and just quite lovely. I have cried almost every episode but not in the, this is really sad way. More in the “this show is reminding me what’s important in life and it’s so beautiful” kind of way.

Without giving too much away, this show has reminded me how precious life’s moments are and how short life is. It reminds me to be present and hold and hug the ones I love. And it reminds me to grab life by the horns and live! To live and create and love even when I’m terrified because life is short. It reminds me that my to-do list can wait (most times) and that these moments (all of them) are right here and not to miss out on them. It reminds me to not take my life, my luxuries, and, most importantly, my loved ones for granted.

Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist - Zoey's Extraordinary Dad (Season ...

It is a truly lovely and life-affirming show and it’s got a badass soundtrack. I’ve already added many of the shows songs to my sing-along playlist.

So what I’m try to say is, you might want to give this lovely show a try if you haven’t already. <3

March 22, 2018

Cat’s Meow: Austin Kleon & 10 Ideas a Day

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Welcome to one of my new blog series! It’s called Cat’s Meow and it’s just that – the cat’s meow. 😉 It’s essentially a place for me to gush about all the things I’m loving right now. So let’s jump right in!

I’ve just read Austin Kleon‘s book, Show Your Work, and it was quite excellent. I enjoyed his first book, Steal Like an Artist, but for whatever reason Show Your Work really spoke to me at this point in my life. It is chockablock full of good information and ideas (many of which I’ve stolen, at his suggestion, of course). And while I don’t agree with everything in his book, I definitely agree with the idea that people can’t see what you’re doing if you don’t put your stuff out there for them to see. So I am committing, right here and right now, to sharing my work and showing my work more often. If you haven’t checked out his work, I highly suggest you give it a try. And it’s not just for artists either – it’s for anyone trying to be creative (which is everyone). Plus, he’s a fellow Texan! 😉

And Mr. Kleon was actually the one who turned me onto the other thing I’m loving right now: 10 Ideas a Day. This is apparently a pretty old idea from James Altucher but I’m glad I finally heard about it! When I was a little kid, I was an idea machine. I had ideas flowing out of me all the time and as I grew into adulthood, that waterfall had turned into a small dribble. After only 3 days of writing down 10 new ideas each day, I’ve come up with a multitude of ideas and revived my creativity and excitement for creative expression. It really has turned me into an idea machine and has jump-started so many different projects and gotten me excited about old ones. I’ve been writing and documenting my one-off ideas for years now, but sitting down to focus on coming up with ideas was transformative for me. And I realized that so many times when I was jotting down a one-off idea, I’d end it with a question mark and the idea would sit on that paper and never see the light of day. NOW, with my ’10 Ideas a Day’ Journal, I end all of my ideas with a period. I’m much more likely to make it happen (if it’s a good idea) and take action.

So what about you – what are you reading, listening to or excited about right now?