One nice thing about getting older (one of the few things :-)) is that I have much less interest in things that don't matter that much. So, I don't spend a lot of time chasing things that burn time and money. But I do spend time and money on things that matter to me. More simplification and focus is calming.
What matters to me now? In no specfic order I'd say music, making a difference through my career, family/friend relationships, great ideas, health, financial independence, sex, mental clarity, spiritual search, seeing more of the world.
Maybe that's about it. Activities that enhance those things pretty much take up my time these days. Now that I wrote the list, it seems longer than I expected, cause it doesn't seem like I do as many different things as I did in the past. But, that's probably enough as I seem to stay busy most of the time with just doing the next thing.
Showing posts with label focus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label focus. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Zest for Life
Originally published in my old blog in September 2008.
What is Zest? The word seems to have so much cash value that it screams to be captalized. Cash value not in the sense of material riches, but in the sense of exhilaration, exuberance, ecstaticness and emotional/intellectual/spiritual well-being. We all desire it. We all need more of it. Can I have another please(?) is our unaninimous reaction when confronted with full frontal versions of it.
I suppose Zest can be applied to anything, but the word itself seems to have such a general applicability that any specific instance immediately generalizes into Zest for Life. Unbridled enthusiasm. Insatiable curiosity. Laser focus. Prolific creativity All of these things are instances of Zest in action.
Perhaps we mere mortals can only hope to approach the kind of Zest with adjectives removed from the prior paragraphical examples. Maybe the unbridled, insatiable, laser, prolific-ness is only symbolic in nature along the lines of abstract types we can only hope to glimpse fleetingly a few times in a life.
If we cannot ever possess the ultimate Platonic abstraction of Zest, what can we do to continue as in Zeno’s paradox toward the goal in infinitely smaller increments without ever arriving so that the journey is an end in itself? What promotes it? What extends it? What broadens or deepens it? Whatever these things are, we need to maintain a constant, steady awareness so that we do not miss the rare opportunities that present themselves.
At the risk of sounding trite, a few examples: paint like a painter, run like a runner, play like a musician, dance like a dancer, speak like an orator, write like a writer, play like a child, lead like an executive. Do all these things from where you are right now with the ultimate abstract model firmly attached to your subconcious mind and you will sometimes discover Zest.
To explore the negative, how can we avoid killing Zest? Avoid negative thinking? Banish laziness? Kill superficial analyses? Spurn repetition beyond necessity and reasonableness? Assassinate hatred? Embrace spontaneity and change?
Writing this short essay has helped me realize my own Zest-ful shortcomings and helped me resolve to do better in the future. I hope reading it has done the same for you.
What is Zest? The word seems to have so much cash value that it screams to be captalized. Cash value not in the sense of material riches, but in the sense of exhilaration, exuberance, ecstaticness and emotional/intellectual/spiritual well-being. We all desire it. We all need more of it. Can I have another please(?) is our unaninimous reaction when confronted with full frontal versions of it.
I suppose Zest can be applied to anything, but the word itself seems to have such a general applicability that any specific instance immediately generalizes into Zest for Life. Unbridled enthusiasm. Insatiable curiosity. Laser focus. Prolific creativity All of these things are instances of Zest in action.
Perhaps we mere mortals can only hope to approach the kind of Zest with adjectives removed from the prior paragraphical examples. Maybe the unbridled, insatiable, laser, prolific-ness is only symbolic in nature along the lines of abstract types we can only hope to glimpse fleetingly a few times in a life.
If we cannot ever possess the ultimate Platonic abstraction of Zest, what can we do to continue as in Zeno’s paradox toward the goal in infinitely smaller increments without ever arriving so that the journey is an end in itself? What promotes it? What extends it? What broadens or deepens it? Whatever these things are, we need to maintain a constant, steady awareness so that we do not miss the rare opportunities that present themselves.
At the risk of sounding trite, a few examples: paint like a painter, run like a runner, play like a musician, dance like a dancer, speak like an orator, write like a writer, play like a child, lead like an executive. Do all these things from where you are right now with the ultimate abstract model firmly attached to your subconcious mind and you will sometimes discover Zest.
To explore the negative, how can we avoid killing Zest? Avoid negative thinking? Banish laziness? Kill superficial analyses? Spurn repetition beyond necessity and reasonableness? Assassinate hatred? Embrace spontaneity and change?
Writing this short essay has helped me realize my own Zest-ful shortcomings and helped me resolve to do better in the future. I hope reading it has done the same for you.
Crispness
Originally posted in my old blog in September 2008.
What is it that separates the truly outstanding from the ordinary? We tend to throw around words like awesome, outstanding, genius and brilliant with too much abandon. We should save those words for what truly is.
When something deserves the use of the superlatives mentioned above and others, it has a degree of crispness that is the definition of the difference from lower expressions of the same thing. Crispness is more than pure accuracy. It is a wholistic quality that combines accuracy, expression, focus, vision and virtuosity into Style. The consistency of style exhibited by an outstanding event communicates an abstraction that touches us at a very deep level.
Whether an activity is physical, intellectual or artistic, crispness pervades the category of professionalism that is the highest expression of the activity. Articulation, consistency and creativity combine into a crisp instantiation of the particular class of activity. The sub-class is itself a crisp instantiation of the parent class and up the hierarchy to the ultimate abstract class.
It can be very difficult to recognize missing crispness. We tend to accept mediocrity as the normal state such that we mistake the merely good or excellent for the superb, exceptional and outstanding.
Constantly seeking crispness with persistence and focus helps to pull ourselves out of any mediocre wallowing that tempts our actions.
What is it that separates the truly outstanding from the ordinary? We tend to throw around words like awesome, outstanding, genius and brilliant with too much abandon. We should save those words for what truly is.
When something deserves the use of the superlatives mentioned above and others, it has a degree of crispness that is the definition of the difference from lower expressions of the same thing. Crispness is more than pure accuracy. It is a wholistic quality that combines accuracy, expression, focus, vision and virtuosity into Style. The consistency of style exhibited by an outstanding event communicates an abstraction that touches us at a very deep level.
Whether an activity is physical, intellectual or artistic, crispness pervades the category of professionalism that is the highest expression of the activity. Articulation, consistency and creativity combine into a crisp instantiation of the particular class of activity. The sub-class is itself a crisp instantiation of the parent class and up the hierarchy to the ultimate abstract class.
It can be very difficult to recognize missing crispness. We tend to accept mediocrity as the normal state such that we mistake the merely good or excellent for the superb, exceptional and outstanding.
Constantly seeking crispness with persistence and focus helps to pull ourselves out of any mediocre wallowing that tempts our actions.
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