Spiralita was a happy girl, in spite of her questions. As a matter of fact, it was her questions that gave herself that happy identity. She was known throughout the land as the ‘Question Girl’. Some made fun of her because of all the questions she asked and some admired her for always being so curious about the world.
But she paid no attention to those people since she didn’t ask her questions because or for them. She asked them because she wanted to know answers. Not THE answer, just answers. Answers were the answer to everything.
The Answer is the Answer
And because she was always asking questions she was always getting answers. She didn’t always believe the answers because she knew answers could be wrong. But she believed even in getting wrong answers. Wrong answers she understood were the only thing that led to right answers because they were the reason for asking more questions and questions were essential to answers. You can’t have one without the other.
The Hill of Life
What made her happy about all this was she knew that getting answers led to progress up the Hill of Life. Getting up any hill wasn’t easy but getting up the Hill of Life was especially hard because it was very steep and very rocky. It was uneven and sometimes dangerous. It could be beautiful and wonderful but not always. Each sharp, giant boulder and each dark, swampy part was overcome by finding the answer to a question. She knew if she practiced asking questions and finding answers when the path wasn’t too hard she would be better at it when she reached these scary parts.
The Solo Climb
And it worked. She was successful in getting to the top of the Hill of Life and just as importantly, she was happy doing it. She felt bad for some of her friends who stumbled and fell back down the hill along the way, even though she tried to help them. She was happy though for her other friends who also figured out how to get to the top. But she knew, in the end, that each person had to climb the hill by themselves.
I posted this drawing 10 years ago today. Still true. I did the drawing in 2002, and another one just like it, and put them in my daughters’ lunches to bring to school.
I love this quote. It reminds me of a road trip. Destiny is the driver and Fate is the friend in the passenger seat saying ‘turn here, go straight, take the on ramp, take the back road…
‘The woman on the Staten Island Ferry sleeping but aware I am drawing her and hoping she looks pretty.’
I did this drawing in 2003 while on my way to visit a girlfriend’s family on Staten Island, New York City. We were dating in Tulsa at the time and both happened to be in NYC at the same time while visiting our respective families. I hopped the ferry to SI to meet up with her and meet her family for the first time. It as a fun visit and very insightful to see where she was from.
Our relationship didn’t last for too much longer after that for the usual reasons, just basic incompatibility, nothing crazy or major. A few months after this trip I started dating Linda, who would eventually become my wife.
I drew the original drawing in 2003. The next time I rode the ferry was in 2018 to the start of the New York City Marathon. That sparked my memory and a few months later I searched out this and a few other drawings from that trip. In 2019 I added the color to this one.
The Orange Man Sat on his golden throne and thought for a second. Then he went out into the world and said, “IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMEIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII”. The End
I wrote this 5 years ago after my first speaking engagement at SXSW. Still true.
SXSW
I am back from 6 days at SXSW Interactive in Austin, TX. I led a workshop then attended presentations and panels on a wide range of topics. Being there is the ultimate in complex reality. Between the overwhelming crowds and choices; the sheer logistics of eating, drinking, transporting, sleeping, and the intense focus of meeting, talking, learning, teaching, communicating, and remembering it all, it was anything but simple.
The Simplicity of Thinking Now
The only way I could keep it simple was to be focused on what was in front of me. Whether it was a person I was meeting for the first time, a slide on a screen, a lecturer, or a transportation moment, paying attention to that alone allowed it to stay as simple as it could be at the moment.
The Complexity of Thinking Not Now
Yes, I was multitasking. For example, I wanted to tweet what was being said but I also wanted to take notes. My solution? My tweets became my notes.
When I got in trouble was when I thought ahead instead of stayed with what I was doing. For example, leaving my hotel in the morning. I never forgot my badge, thank God, but I did forget my water bottles one day. Doesn’t seem like a big deal, but when water is 3.25 a bottle? It’s a big deal.
I forgot my schedule booklet one day and had to go over to registration (a long way in a big convention center) to get a new one, one not marked up with all my notes. I had left mine in the hotel bathroom when I went back in to make sure I was empty before starting my day.
Twice while at the conference I left a water or coffee behind that cost way too much to leave behind. Yes, I went back and got them each time and it added frazzlement to my day.
Less Thoughts, More Thinking
All this made me think about Simplicity. I realized I didn’t need to think less, I needed to have less thoughts. When I limited the amount of thoughts or was able to unify those thoughts into a clear thread of thinking, then I was successful in getting the most out of my time and efforts. That’s simple enough, right?
