GRIZZLY PEAR
In order to avoid getting addicted to caffeine, so I have a general rule of not drinking any such beverages on the weekend.
It’s a rule that has worked so far.
The question is what else should I detox from?
And the corollary would be, if it requires a detox, why not just abstain altogether?
With my recent dive into the Dao De Jing and the Zhuangzi I’ve been been reminded that some authors are just better at writing in english than others.
Admittedly the goals of these different translations were divergent – some of them are actual translations while others are only renditions.
Not surprisingly however, the books that gave up fidelity to the original text gained the freedom to really write fluently in the new language.
I’m certain the imprimatur of a famous author didn’t hurt my reception of Ursula K. Le Guin’s Tao Te Ching or Thomas Merton’s Chuang Tzu. But then again higher expectations often lead to greater disappointment.
In these two cases, they did not disappoint. Their years of writing for a popular audiences prepared them with the subtle tools to excel in their craft, and it shows.
As an architect who has gone client side, it has been interesting to observe the work of multiple firms. By leaving the practice of actually producing drawings, my sense of what architects should do has sharpened.
The ideas of producing clearly cross referenced drawing sets or making it easy for a client to make a decision are not new concepts. But now that I am on the receiving end of these services, I feel even more strongly about what that work of the architect should be.
Admittedly, I am detached from the day to day contingencies of doing the work, so a little compassion is in order.
But only just a little bit.
Because these expectations are cultural. I’m not asking my consultants anything more than what I expected of myself just a year ago.
This is who we are as architects.
Steven Pressfield has created this specific term “resistance” to describe all the internal mental stuff that keeps you away from doing your best work.
I woke up this morning realizing that I’m pretty good at jumping into projects at the office, but I do encounter significant the resistance at home.
It’s not that life at home is a wreck, but I think our papers and finances could be better systematized and organized.
The question then, is what I plan on cutting out, so that I take the time to square things away.
As always I guess item #1 is screen time.
You don’t buy time during the deadline.
Time is bought it during the body of the project, during the doldrums between the start and the finish.
Buy time when it is cheap and plentiful; at the end it is priceless, but no longer for sale.
You taught me the courage of stars before you left.
excerpt from Saturn, by Sleeping at Last
How light carries on endlessly, even after death.
With shortness of breath, you explained the infinite.
How rare and beautiful it is to even exist.
I couldn’t help but ask
For you to say it all again.
I tried to write it down
But I could never find a pen.
I’d give anything to hear
You say it one more time,
That the universe was made
Just to be seen by my eyes.
Maybe I was just in a maudlin mood, but I came across the lyrics and it just hit me hard.
Not so much for me, but as something to tell the kids.
However, I’m not sure I would. Maybe these sentiments are better left unspoken. They see themselves as the center of the world already.
Maybe like sex, drugs, and rock and roll, there will be a time and place for them to learn about this, but not now.
Hopefully I’ll be there to tell them, when it’s time.
I just finished watching the now concluded youtube channel Every Frame a Painting.
You can ask only so much out of this free internet world and we were lucky to be given these little five to ten minute video essays from the perspective of an editor.
I’m not a film buff, but each of those 27 videos were great to watch. Now I gotta figure out what to watch while I take my blood pressure in the mornings.
All my photos are essentially on two hard drives plus whatever is uploaded to carbonite.
Technically that meets the 3-2-1 rule, three devices, two different types, one off site.
But still, it does seem a little bit too much faith to put into technology.
But as a parent of two kids, when would I make time to print these out? What would be the opportunity cost of that?
As always, trade-offs.
The good thing about a sourdough starter is that it forces you to make bread on a regular basis.
Or does it? You could just make pancakes or noodles instead.
But yeah, it’s been busy and I hadn’t been keeping up with the breadmaking.
So when I made a loaf today, it felt like relearning how to ride a bike.
You know how it should all work together, but the body and mind isn’t flowing smoothly.
Practice. It’s the game. Even when you got it down pat.
It’s not easy.
Sometimes you have to poke and prod a little. Not fun.
Maybe even a little unpleasant.
But I guess that’s the job.
You’re gonna be living in it soon.