Written At A Rest Stop

It's always somewhat endearing when someone tells you that you remind them of someone they look up to. Unless they mean it in a bad way. Like the other day, I was chatting the day away with one of our customers at work, when she said this:

"You remind me of my dad. He's an artist like you...yeah, he never finishes anything he starts."

Zing! That hit the spot. But only because it's true. I guess it's something we artists have in common. That, plus the insanely immense lack of organizational skills, abundant enthusiasm for life's little pleasures, and an overwhelming desire to be acknowledged.

But I digress. It made me think. A wise man once told me that I interface with the world through short bursts of intense passion. And I thought about the phases I've gone through in the past few months. Painting, writing, illustrating...sometimes it's not even art. Sometimes it's a video game I get myself wrapped up in, or an e-book on my iPhone. My newest 'thing' is construction. That's right, workin' with my hands in a manly, sweaty, grunty way.

I built shelves. For the wall.

Right now I have a few chunks of cut, sanded, painted wood sitting in my garage that, with the help of a few screws and L-brackets, will hopefully become a headboard.

But do you know what the difference is between this woodworking thing and everything else I've started? I'm going to finish it! Maybe it's because it's a short, simple project. Maybe it's because I have an elevated sense of motivation to get it done (e.g. the room being a constant mess and my wife's pillows falling off the bed every night until it's finished). Either way, it's going to get finished.

I started a paint studio...of sorts. It hasn't seen any action lately. I started illustrating a book I wrote...I'm 3 pages into it. I started reading a book that someone else wrote...I'm about 50 pages into it. I even have unfinished blog posts that I just never went back to.

So yes, I do interface with the world through short bursts of intense passion. And yes, I am not known for finishing what I start. But if I change that - if I finish every little project I undertake, and continue to apply that same passion from start to finish...maybe I will start to make ripples. Maybe the things I do and the stuff I create will become self-sustaining testaments to the artist in me, instead of half-complete artifacts of what I once dreamed, resigned to a life of collecting dust and wondering what they might have become.

That's the key - finish what you start.

It's not the imaginaion I struggle with. Using a little creativity, a mild knowledge of magnetism, and a few minutes of free time, I came up with an idea for the most awesome light source in a room. Leaving all scientific jargon aside, I've come up with a way to place floating light bulbs in various locations around a room - making physical contact with nothing but the air around them - which can turn on and off at the flip of a switch, but without having to be plugged into anything.

The problem isn't in dreaming stuff up. My problem is in making it happen. So if I practice finishing the little things I start, then maybe those little things will become less little. Then they might evolve into big things, then huge things, then a room lit by floating light bulbs!

So the first thing to do is make a list of all my unfinished projects and finish them. But that, my friend, is a task unto itself.

Here's to new perspectives on old ideas.