I then scrapped that thought and decided to think about elderly Chinese people playing basketball.
Running Through My Head
Running long distances gives you a great deal of time for thought. Sometimes the thoughts I have can be, well, rather random. I was thinking, as I ran my quasi-stoic 5 kilometre run (it's important to look as though one doesn't feel the slightest discomfort), that I was running in the same direction as everybody else. Everybody else just so happened to be composed entirely of ladies. I then realised that if I ran around the track in the opposite direction I could claim that women literally ran at me. I then thought that whilst that would be a most masculine boast, one worthy of the chivalric knights in days of yore, that the literal images associated with that are rather scary. Hoards of women running at me.
I then scrapped that thought and decided to think about elderly Chinese people playing basketball.
I then scrapped that thought and decided to think about elderly Chinese people playing basketball.
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The Path
It's been a long summer, and it's funny that a predetermined space of time can seem shorter or longer according to what happens therein. Well, this summer I completed my 7th semester at the Berklee College of Music, which means that I am only 4 months away from graduating.
I auditioned for Berklee a little over 3 years ago. 2 months before that audition Berklee hadn't even crossed my mind as a possibility. The idea of studying music was one I'd never really harboured, though I always held music close to my heart. Upon arriving at Berklee I decided that I wanted to pursue a dedicated guitar performance course. One semester later and I was officially a student within the songwriting degree program.
It really is fascinating how much your immediate goals can change, but somehow the one you've always focussed on draws ever closer. It seems that I have been guided onto more fitting paths over the months and years.
Speaking of paths, today I ran 7km. It may not sound much to those of you who enjoy marathon running or casual 5km events, but it was a big step for me. I've had it in mind to participate in a 5km event and perhaps even a marathon, so I decided that after weeks of taking small steps I'd test my abilities. It turns out I've come further than I thought!
So if anything, keep a firm eye on your goals, but don't be so focussed as to let opportunities and alternate paths fall by the wayside; the view is pretty gorgeous.
I auditioned for Berklee a little over 3 years ago. 2 months before that audition Berklee hadn't even crossed my mind as a possibility. The idea of studying music was one I'd never really harboured, though I always held music close to my heart. Upon arriving at Berklee I decided that I wanted to pursue a dedicated guitar performance course. One semester later and I was officially a student within the songwriting degree program.
It really is fascinating how much your immediate goals can change, but somehow the one you've always focussed on draws ever closer. It seems that I have been guided onto more fitting paths over the months and years.
Speaking of paths, today I ran 7km. It may not sound much to those of you who enjoy marathon running or casual 5km events, but it was a big step for me. I've had it in mind to participate in a 5km event and perhaps even a marathon, so I decided that after weeks of taking small steps I'd test my abilities. It turns out I've come further than I thought!
So if anything, keep a firm eye on your goals, but don't be so focussed as to let opportunities and alternate paths fall by the wayside; the view is pretty gorgeous.
Long Goodbyes
This might seem irrelevant now, but last September a good friend of mine, Calvin Siems, passed away. He was a beloved friend of mine. Upon his passing I was, as is expected, rather taken aback and saddened at the loss of such a good friend. What is most interesting to me is how quickly I dealt with the pain and how long it took me to process what had happened. Allow me to elaborate.
Calvin was a seasoned performer with Wildfire Dance Theatre, a social development project based out of Stratford, Ontario and, as such, had performed with many people from all over the world. In February of 2004 I became one of those people. As the youngest male in the cast I naturally looked up to those older than myself, one of those being Calvin; having never had a brother I felt drawn to Calvin and truly looked up to him. Every one of us on that tour, youth from all over the world (Scotland, England, USA, Canada, Spain, and more), became a big extended family.
When a family loses a member it is often best to come to together to grieve and to celebrate that person's life as a family as very few can know them as intimately. When we lost Calvin we were all in our different countries, separated and unable to really turn to one another. Grieving is a personal affair and we dealt with his passing in the moment, but we soon decided that we needed to reunite to celebrate his life. It would be the first time in 5 years that many of us have seen each other.
The sense of relief, mentally, spiritually and emotionally, that each of us experienced this past weekend reflected the importance of celebrating the life of a loved one with those who knew them intimately. Calvin would often speak of us as his second family. Though I have every confidence that Calvin's spirit now resides in a beautiful new world, I am no super-being. Emotions are a key aspect of our human nature and need to be tended to carefully. The passing of a friend or loved one affects us all on some level and processing those emotions is so very important. When Calvin passed on I could find no one within a 1000 mile radius that knew him in the same light; my ability to process the event was limited.
I guess that's one of the biggest aspects of our nature: the need of understanding and compassion.
Calvin was a seasoned performer with Wildfire Dance Theatre, a social development project based out of Stratford, Ontario and, as such, had performed with many people from all over the world. In February of 2004 I became one of those people. As the youngest male in the cast I naturally looked up to those older than myself, one of those being Calvin; having never had a brother I felt drawn to Calvin and truly looked up to him. Every one of us on that tour, youth from all over the world (Scotland, England, USA, Canada, Spain, and more), became a big extended family.
When a family loses a member it is often best to come to together to grieve and to celebrate that person's life as a family as very few can know them as intimately. When we lost Calvin we were all in our different countries, separated and unable to really turn to one another. Grieving is a personal affair and we dealt with his passing in the moment, but we soon decided that we needed to reunite to celebrate his life. It would be the first time in 5 years that many of us have seen each other.
The sense of relief, mentally, spiritually and emotionally, that each of us experienced this past weekend reflected the importance of celebrating the life of a loved one with those who knew them intimately. Calvin would often speak of us as his second family. Though I have every confidence that Calvin's spirit now resides in a beautiful new world, I am no super-being. Emotions are a key aspect of our human nature and need to be tended to carefully. The passing of a friend or loved one affects us all on some level and processing those emotions is so very important. When Calvin passed on I could find no one within a 1000 mile radius that knew him in the same light; my ability to process the event was limited.
I guess that's one of the biggest aspects of our nature: the need of understanding and compassion.
Voracious Visualisations
Planning is something that we humans seem to spend most of our time doing. I'm forever working on ways to plan effectively so that whatever I plan comes to fruition. I'm not notoriously bad at making things happen, in fact I usually receive compliments about ongoing activities, but from my viewpoint I seem to be very haphazard.
One method I have, and it really makes me laugh sometimes, is naming my to-do list my 'Quest' list, or my 'Mission Log'. I decided that things might be more fun to do if I treated them like Zelda quests or SpecOps missions. All that done I proceed ahead at ridiculous speed and then burnout.
This, I think, is what I'm getting at, the obsession to be continuous productive, always moving and never just taking the time to observe. Meditation and the art of thinking were historically considered a form of work; think about the Greek schools of thought, monks, etc. Consider the following, a line taken from LOST:
“Ludovico Buonarrati, Michelangelo’s father. He was a wealthy man. He had no understanding of the divinity in his son, so he beat him. No child of his was going to use his hands for a living. So, Michelangelo learned not to use his hands. Years later a visiting prince came into Michelangelo’s studio and found the master staring at a single 18 foot block of marble. Then he knew that the rumors were true — that Michelangelo had come in everyday for the last four months, stared at the marble, and gone home for his supper. So the prince asked the obvious — what are you doing? And Michelangelo turned around and looked at him, and whispered, “sto lavorando,” (I’m working). Three years later that block of marble was the statue of David.”
- John Locke (Terry O'Quinn)
That, I think, mirrors what I want to be able to achieve, a state of awareness that allows me to plot a course, see it through and come out the otherside having really achieved something. Extraordinary measures for extraordinary results.
Let's learn from each other - how do you plan?
One method I have, and it really makes me laugh sometimes, is naming my to-do list my 'Quest' list, or my 'Mission Log'. I decided that things might be more fun to do if I treated them like Zelda quests or SpecOps missions. All that done I proceed ahead at ridiculous speed and then burnout.
This, I think, is what I'm getting at, the obsession to be continuous productive, always moving and never just taking the time to observe. Meditation and the art of thinking were historically considered a form of work; think about the Greek schools of thought, monks, etc. Consider the following, a line taken from LOST:
“Ludovico Buonarrati, Michelangelo’s father. He was a wealthy man. He had no understanding of the divinity in his son, so he beat him. No child of his was going to use his hands for a living. So, Michelangelo learned not to use his hands. Years later a visiting prince came into Michelangelo’s studio and found the master staring at a single 18 foot block of marble. Then he knew that the rumors were true — that Michelangelo had come in everyday for the last four months, stared at the marble, and gone home for his supper. So the prince asked the obvious — what are you doing? And Michelangelo turned around and looked at him, and whispered, “sto lavorando,” (I’m working). Three years later that block of marble was the statue of David.”
- John Locke (Terry O'Quinn)
That, I think, mirrors what I want to be able to achieve, a state of awareness that allows me to plot a course, see it through and come out the otherside having really achieved something. Extraordinary measures for extraordinary results.
Let's learn from each other - how do you plan?
Motivational Mishaps
This summer started with a bang but, as with most bangs, it had to fizzle out. After having studied for almost seven semesters with no break I am starting to realise why hardly anyone does the 'eight straight' approach. In fact, I'm tempted to thing I almost burnt out in my first semester here out of sheer excitement at being able to study at Berklee. But each semester I experience a slump in energy about 2 weeks in, a slump that reappears and grows slightly with each passing period.
It is for this reason that I'm glad that I only have one more semester to go; this school may be wonderful, but it sure does take it out of you. My ability to keep up with blogs, vlogs, updates, etc, suffers periodically but I want you to know that I think about you all every day - missing a blog or a video throws me off, but I'm reestablishing a pattern of work that should tide me over until the end of the semester when I can take a much needed break.
My future is starting to take shape. I'm working on applying for an artist visa so I can stay in the USA as a performing artist, an effort that will fast consume my time but will allow me to do the things I love and support myself at the same time.
And now, onto much, much more exciting things! I have always been a fan of international football, and I vividly remember watching my first World Cup in 1994. Ever since then I find myself unable to do anything but go completely football mad every four years, and this year has been no exception. Yesterday I watched history unfold as Spain played in their first World Cup final and won. I was overjoyed, as were the other 100 Spaniards and Latinos in the room with me. Long live psychic cephalopods.
It is for this reason that I'm glad that I only have one more semester to go; this school may be wonderful, but it sure does take it out of you. My ability to keep up with blogs, vlogs, updates, etc, suffers periodically but I want you to know that I think about you all every day - missing a blog or a video throws me off, but I'm reestablishing a pattern of work that should tide me over until the end of the semester when I can take a much needed break.
My future is starting to take shape. I'm working on applying for an artist visa so I can stay in the USA as a performing artist, an effort that will fast consume my time but will allow me to do the things I love and support myself at the same time.
And now, onto much, much more exciting things! I have always been a fan of international football, and I vividly remember watching my first World Cup in 1994. Ever since then I find myself unable to do anything but go completely football mad every four years, and this year has been no exception. Yesterday I watched history unfold as Spain played in their first World Cup final and won. I was overjoyed, as were the other 100 Spaniards and Latinos in the room with me. Long live psychic cephalopods.
