Author: dianathormoto

Stepping Up Even if You Don’t Know the Way

/ dianathormoto

It’s August 1st. We’re at the start of a new month, already. The summer is flying by and the start of the new month fills me with both excitement and sadness. Excitement for a whole new month to do new things and finish up projects. Sadness because summer will be ending soon and even with another month it seems like there is never enough time to do everything. And, sometimes we don’t even know which path to take while we’re working, which is why I think the words of Frodo Baggins are important today:

"I will take the Ring," he said, "though I do not know the way." Frodo Baggins

Luckily the fate of Middle Earth isn’t in my hands (talk about way too much pressure), but we’re all responsible for various things in our life–big and small. We all have the opportunity, if not daily, at least weekly–in my experience–to step up even if we don’t know the way. Sometimes we step up, and sometimes we don’t. But if it is true that we regret more the things we don’t do than those that we do, then I think we should probably step up more often than not. Even when we’re scared, even when we can’t even dream of knowing the way.

And, if we are lucky, we’ll figure out the way and even get good people to help us along the way. We’ll get bruised and fall and have to get back up even when we don’t want to. But looking back at our month, we won’t feel the hurt of regret. We’ll feel some pride and maybe have figured out a bit more of our way.

I hope you have a lovely week and month. I’m sorry there was no Saturday Short last week, but I’d caught the icky summer cold/flu that’s been going around. This week, the Saturday Short will be back as usual. Until then, keep creating your way and taking risks with your art. 🙂

Saturday Short: Graffiti on the Lintel

/ dianathormoto

photograph of graffiti that reads love your lifeMargaret looked up from her dusty boots when a shadow passed over them. She frowned at the incongruous, slabs of concrete still standing in this wasteland of sand and sun. The crossbeam was intact, a rarity even when one did find evidence of ruins jutting up like the broken teeth of some hagfish dragged up from the deep.

She wiped her hand across her forehead, drawing a line of chalky orange dust that looked like a deliberate mark before shielding her eyes from the sun. Squinting at the letters, she tried to remember her lessons from the time before. What did those marks mean? She wasn’t sure anymore. Perhaps the sun had bleached them out of her head. But she dutifully withdrew her book and stub of a pencil she’d recovered from a shack two days before from her pack and copied the writing. Then she slung her pack back on her shoulder and resumed walking, staring at her feet in the dust.

It would be four days before she found anyone who could decipher the letters for her. When told what they meant, she laughed along with the person who thought they were ridiculous–the work of a madman. But at night alone, when the stars came out, Margaret would trace the words in her book and recited what she still loved. And, sometimes, it helped.

Small Stars

/ dianathormoto

People keep saying how crazy a week it has been and we are only halfway through it. It seems like 2016 is trying to outdo every other year with screaming headlines about incident after incident of horrible things. It is enough to make anyone question if there is anything good left in the world and if there is any way to make a difference, which is why I think this quote is appropriate to share today.

Even a small star shines in the darkness, Finnish proverb

Talking with a colleague about the events that have been unfolding showing us brutally how much hate and anger are bubbling under the surface of our society, we both agreed how exhausting it can be to continue to care and to try to make any difference. While we might not be able to change the world, we can change ourselves and how we interact in our small spheres of influence.

We can be small stars that might not illuminate an entire planet, but we can shine brightly in our own neighborhoods, in our communities. We can decide to not let hopelessness and hate and violence win. We can be good neighbors to each other and, if you think about it, everyone is someone’s neighbor. And, if we all took care of our neighbors, the world might just have a chance of sorting itself out. Probably too much to ask, but it’s possible.

So as you go about your work and your play, don’t let the haters and the hatred win. Don’t add to the darkness and the drama. Be a small star, in whatever way you can–through your art, your baking, your listening, your helping, your doing, your action–and remember that with enough small stars you can light up a galaxy.

Saturday Short: The Yellow Bouquet

/ dianathormoto

photography of a bouquet of yellow flowersSometimes the world just needs flowers.

My mother used to say that as she clipped flowers from her garden and set them in a vase to give to a neighbor or friend. Her arrangements were always perfect, like her tinctures—beautiful, tailored to the person to whom the gift would be given. In all her years of giving flowers, I don’t think she ever received any in return. Except from my father, he brought her flowers every week from the market, even though they could never compete with her garden.

But that didn’t matter; they were always the most perfect flowers to my mother. Because they were from my father and his love for her made them magic. At least, that’s what I thought when I was young and breathed in their scent and their soft illumination in the night.

Now they were both gone and I arranged flowers in a world that was oblivious to their beauty and their magic.

I looked down at the yellow daisies and peach-yellow roses that I had placed in the vase. It wasn’t as perfect as my mother’s, but I still had hope that one day they’d glow.

Technology and Constraints

/ dianathormoto

It’s midweek again, the time when energy starts flagging and the weekend seems at once both so far away and so close that we can almost feel the breeze through an open door. And, if you are reading this post, you are looking at the screen of some device (and probably have been for several hours, especially if you are reading this while taking a break from PokĂ©mon GO.) It is appropriate then to share this quote by R. Buckminster Fuller.

"Humanity is acquiring all the right technology for all he wrong reasons" R. Buckminster Fuller

As we spend more time in front of increasingly small screens, it is imperative that sometimes we step back and reflect on what technology (in this case, mainly thinking about computer and related technology instead of such technology as the pen or indoor heating) means for us and for our communities. No one can hold back the tsunami that is technological change, but that doesn’t mean we have to mindlessly use it or not consider what the right reasons for using it would be.

So let’s agree to be thoughtful about how we use technology and how we acquire technology. Let’s decide together what we should be using different technologies for instead of blindly following whatever marketing tells us. Let’s put down the smartphone and actually have a conversation or a bit of quiet so we can create whatever art we want to create. Because we can decide what constraints we want to put around technology and its use so that technology truly benefits us.

Let’s use technology to move towards utopias that science fiction has promised rather than the horrible dystopias that it warned us about. We have that power; we just need to use it.

I hope you have a wonderful day and create something beautiful (maybe even something with your hands that doesn’t rely on a computer or mobile device). 🙂 I’m looking forward to seeing friends after work and plotting out another story in my journal with a fountain pen. How about you?

How to be Human

/ dianathormoto

How has your first week of July gone? Can you believe that we are already a week into July? So much has happened in this first week, so much good and so much bad. It is hard to even read the news with all that is happening in the world. So, without having anything really to add that hasn’t been written before, I’ll simply give you this week’s quote:

Anyone can be an idealist. Anyone can be a cynic. The hard part lies somewhere in the middle-that is, being human. Hugh MacLeod

With all the horrible things being said and done in the world, it is easy to fall into the trap of being a cynic. It is harder to fall into the trap of being an idealist, but one can and it doesn’t really help either. The middle, where there is dialogue and hard work and understanding, is where we should strive to be–where we can be human. It can be difficult and tiring, but it really is the only way that life gets better.

It’s the same with creating anything, if you really think about it. You can be an idealist or a cynic, but either one will probably mean you won’t create much no matter what your medium. Or you can be human, flawed and all. You can keep creating art and love and dialogue. And, maybe, one day, you just might create something that surprises you by how well it captures your ideas, your art.

We can’t be more than humans, but we can decide how we are humans and what it means to be human. We can decide how to use our art and our words. We have that power and I hope we decide to use it well.

P.S. If you aren’t familiar with Hugh MacLeod’s work, you should check it out. Also, his book, Ignore Everybody, is a funny, insightful read for anyone who needs a pep talk about being creative.

Saturday Short: The Old Ones’ Equipment

/ dianathormoto

photograph of old, rusty farm equipment in a field

“What’s that, Momma?” asked Henry as he pulled on my hand to propel me towards the rusting equipment near the trail.

“It’s from the Old Ones,” I said and felt a chill down my spine, even though I knew there was nothing to fear–not now.

“Really?” He looked on in awe at the rusting heap. It couldn’t fall apart fast enough for me.

“Yes. Have you learned about them in school?”

“No.” He looked up at me. “Who are they?”

A breeze blew shivers through my shawl. I squeezed Henry’s hand. “When we get home, love.”

“Let’s go!” He broke away and began running down the hill towards home.

I took another look at the rust and turned back to home. I pondered what I would tell Henry about the Old Ones when we got home. He was too young yet for all of the truth.

 

Solitude and Imagination

/ dianathormoto

Has summer sunk into your bones yet? (Apologies to those who are living in the Southern Hemisphere and are in winter. I hope you have having a lovely, cozy season.) I can’t believe that we’re going over the hump of the year into the downward slope. It has been a busy, crazy year. But now it is summer and it’s time to slow down a bit, which is great for creativity and so I’m sharing today’s quote:

Solitude is where we learn to trust our imaginations Sherry Turkle

Summer can be a lovely time to get together more with family and friends. There’s always so much to do, but it is also a wonderful time for solitude. There is something delicious and wonderful about taking a walk by yourself in summer when the days are long, the birds are out, and the flowers are in bloom. Summer, with its heat and long days and starry nights, invites us to linger outside or half-doze in the afternoon. It is a great time to clear our head’s and make space for our imaginations to flow.

In summer, solitude is as important as time together if we want to recharge our imaginations (especially for those getting ready for NaNoWriMo, which will be here in a few short months).

So savor your summer. Make time with friends and family, but make time for yourself, too. Let the whisper of your imagination guide you and don’t forget to write (or draw) your ideas down.

I hope you have a lovely end of the month and beginning of July.

p.s. I also highly recommend reading Sherry Turkle’s entire book, Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age.  Well-written research with suggestions you can actually use to connect (and to unplug) today.

Saturday Short: Three Hearts

/ dianathormoto

three hearts in foam of a cappucino

I stared down at the design the barista drew into the foam of my cappuccino and said nothing over the lump growing in my throat. My partner looked over my shoulder and I could hear the smile in his voice as he said,

“Isn’t that nice? Three hearts. Must mean we’ll be in love for a long time.” He kissed the top of my head and grabbed his cup of black coffee off the counter. There were no designs in his.

“Yes,” I said. “Lovely.”

We sat by the window and sipped at our drinks. He was unusually talkative or perhaps I was unusually quiet. I didn’t remember half of what he said by the time we finished and walked out of the cafe. We held hands as we walked back to our apartment, only two blocks away.

I watched him sleep that night, unaware of what the three hearts meant. If I was lucky and quick, he’d never know. But then, if I were lucky, I wouldn’t know what three hearts meant. I’d think they were a nice sign, too, but they weren’t. I knew that in my heart.

Uncommon Excellence

/ dianathormoto

I’m not sure about you, but I feel as if the month of June has simply gotten away from me. One minute I’m flipping the calendar and it’s June 1st, the next minute we’re days away from the last weekend of the month. It is maddening! What does this have to do with the quote I’m sharing today? Nothing and much, depending on how you look at it.

"Excellence is to do a common thing in an uncommon way" Booker T. Washington

Obviously, there is nothing about June, the start of summer, or the ending of the school year. There’s nothing about time or calendars. And, yet, it reminds me of all of those things. Because, while I love summer and always have great plans, sometimes it can feel like I can’t possibly get enough done in the summer so that it will be extraordinary (you know, like all those party photos in Better Homes & Gardens or the vacation photos everyone and their cat seems to post on social media).

But then I look at this quote and remember that I can still strive for excellence in the common things I have to do each day and that creates the possibility of uncommon excellence. And I like that. It reminds me, too, of one of my mother’s favorite sayings: if you are going to do anything, you might as well do it to the best of your ability.

So let’s strive for excellence in the common things we do this summer and we might even find some wonder in the mundane. Because that’s the point of a creative life, right? To find the inspiration where others don’t see anything.

I hope you have a wonderful end to your June. 🙂