The War of Art

I was first exposed to this book during the summer of 2003. I was working in Orlando, FL to help facilitate a leadership development program for college students and at the same time participating in a separate staff leadership program with Great Commission Ministries.  During my summer stays in Orlando, I had managed to find two incredible book stores in the area. One was a used book store called Leedy’s, and the other was a book store in Northland Community Church in Longwood, FL.

While I was at the church book store, the book store manager recommended The War of Art by Steven Pressfield to me. It wasn’t a faith-based book, but rather a book about the creative process and persevering from idea to action. It sounded like a great read, so I picked it up and added it to my list for the summer.

Just this past summer, it was mentioned again on a list of recommended reads at a java developers conference. So, of course, I picked it up to re-read it. What I found in it was a series of short essays on resistance.

Resistance is that internal invisible force that distracts us, shoves us away, and prevents us from doing our work particularly when that work derives from our higher nature rather than our lower (painting, writing, music, dance, or any creative art, any form of spiritual advancement, education, and more).  We all experience it, and our inability to overcome resistance is what leads to lapsed diets, exercise programs, creative endeavors, and other forms of personal development and self-improvement. And the crazy thing about resistance is that it comes from within.

I don’t want to share too much of the book here. Rather, I would say that particularly at this time of year when so many of us are in the process of setting goals, making new commitments, and pursuing new physical, spiritual, mental, emotional, financial, or creative endeavors, this book makes an incredible read.

The book can be an incredible tool for identifying resistance and pushing through to the realization of our goals. Once one knows their enemy, then they know how to combat their enemy.

If you are looking for a good read to give you a kick-start to achieving your goals, I highly recommend The War of Art.  I also highly recommend taking time to recognize how resistance rears its head in your own life, and determine creative ways to stop it before it stops you in 2012.

Home Office and Library

This weekend, after our race, Jamie and I made a quick trip to Lowes to look into some paint for painting a room in the house that will serve as a home office for me.  This was our third trip to Lowe’s and I felt only slightly closer than in the past to finding a a color that I thought would work.  I was landing on a blue or gray tint because I had read that these tints help enhance productivity and and creativity.

As Jamie and I waited in line to purchase a couple of tints I decided upon, I had an idea.  What about mis-tints?  Part of this was because I hated the thought of spending $30-35 for a gallon of paint I wasn’t sure about, and part of it was the thought that I could find a potential bargain that would be even better than any of the colors I was considering.  Jamie had quickly glanced at the bin and saw a variety of purples and greens, but when I walked back, I found a blue that was PERFECT!

So we stepped out of line, drove to the house, and began taping off the ceiling and trim.  Because the room was a little smaller, and because we weren’t sure if we would have enough paint, we painted the room with brushes instead of a roller.  It looks phenomenal.

As a result of the painting efforts, I felt confident about moving three large bookcases into the space and transforming the space into a home library/office space.  It’s not quite finished in its entirety as I would like to replace the overhead light fixture as well as hang a few things on the walls, but wow, it’s pretty incredible to have a space like this.  (As an aside, if you are interested, I may be downsizing my library and selling a few titles.  I have a number of texts from an MA in English as well as many texts on faith, culture, and philosophy.)  

In my life, I’ve never had a room entirely dedicated to thinking, reading, work and the like.  In fact, until my roommates moved my desk into this room, my desk/workspace has always been about 2-3 feet from my bed.  Now that I don’t have working/reading stuff in my bedroom, I’m not sure what to do with that space. I'm excited about this new arrangement of space and the opportunity to dive in to having my own library. 

I'm looking forward to this being a place where many great ideas are birthed and developed to maturity.   Hope that you are able to cultivate creativity and innovation in your world!

Sunset Same Day

Sunset Same Day, originally uploaded by chanchanchepon.

I had a rare privilege yesterday. I had the benefit of being around my house with a camera to capture the early morning view, and then, as we had our canvas group come over for creative expression, I had the privilege of being on my back porch to see this view last night.

The hill in the photo is the town of westover. It's funny because the view never gets old to me. Every time I am around my house at this time of day, and I think to grab my camera, I snap a photo like this. It doesn't matter the season of the year, although each season produces its own set of interesting colors.

Lately it feels like the world is traveling faster than the speed of thought. And then I see images like this that compel me to slow down, to savor the moments, to enjoy the journey.

We are a culture that values the destination over the journey. Last night we had a creative expression time at my house, and a group of us were given paint and a canvas and encouraged to work together to create something unique. After about 15 minutes of splashing vivid colors on a canvas, people felt like they were done and wanted to quit. A friend of mine told me that might happen, and so I encouraged everyone to stick with it for a bit longer.

And then something really cool happened. People really started to engage in the process in a deeper way. A couple of people said, "I want to try to do something like this at home in the future."

It takes time, effort, and concentration to engage in the process. It takes all of this and more to slow down from a blurring pace of life. And yet, when we make some small gesture toward slowing down, we experience change deep within our souls.

Our souls were made for moments like this sunset. Our souls were made for the moments beyond 15 minutes of splashing paint on a canvas. We were made to be fully engaged in our world. It's rare that we are able to do that. And when we meet people who have learned how to do that with regularity, our lives are impacted.

As this week comes to an end, may you experience that kind of nourishment for your soul. Get out and go for a walk through your neighborhood, or through some woods. Enjoy a sunrise or a sunset. Paint, write, draw. Slow down a little bit and savor the freshness that the Creator has placed all around you. Pennies and sunsets, and all.

Spider

Spider, originally uploaded by chanchanchepon.

I'm finally getting a handle on how to use the macro function on my camera. Yesterday, while out galavanting through the woods (and climbing) a small group of us came upon this spider (about a foot below this spider and web is an identical spider and web that I couldn't capture in the same photo).

I'm not sure what kind of spider this is, but it definitely looks cool.

It is amazing the complexity and intricacy that spiders weave into their webs. When I see the discipline of a spider in making this amazingly intricate and beautiful web, I am awestruck.

Something so small is capable of such intricacy, and I often feel that I am all thumbs when I attempt to be artistic.

Somehow though, we are all like this spider. We have such a capacity for creativity, and we rarely grasp it. We are so busy being productive that we miss out on virtually any opportunity to be creative.

Take some time today, and be creative. Write, paint, draw, even re-arrange your room or clean it. Slow down, and be an instrument for ushering beauty into the world.