a semblance of knowing.

If you want to live your life in a creative way, as an artist, you have to not look back too much. You have to be willing to take whatever you’ve done and whoever you were and throw them away. (Steve Jobs)

What an aidha volunteer told me in an interview that stuck in my head all the day and got me through it.

Like pollution, no one is responsible for it and hence no one cares..

Slow and steady wins the race. That’s something we all know, but what about getting ahead by slowing down? Getting ahead by stepping back? Learning to be still and quiet, while taking on as much as we can and not be idle, to live our lives fully?

He whose heart is kind beyond all measure,

Gives unto each day what He deems best,

Lovingly its part of pain and pleasure,

Mingling toil with peace and rest.

Lina Sandell, Swedish

I woke up this morning with my chatty mum talking at me. It’s something I find really quite annoying at times. How do we make interruptions our friends?

I always think that my Saturdays will be quiet ones whereby I can happily and productively complete my immense backlog of things to do. It never happens. I had a zillion distractions today. When I finally thought I could sit down and start, a lizard fell out of the air conditioning unit and landed next to me with a loud squelch. (I hate lizards).

So what am I to do with all this?

Two books that helped:

- Keep a Quiet Heart, by Elisabeth Elliot.

- Reconciling All Things, by Emmanuel Katongole and Chris Rice.

What do these books say about interruptions?

“When all kinds of trials and temptations crowd into your lives, my brothers, don’t resent them as intruders but welcome them as friends.” (James 1:2, Philips translation)

There are precious few who make the world seem so much more colourful and exciting and full of possibility when they are in it. Not just because they are wonderful on their own, but also because of the person you become as a result of being with them. You can’t help but become your best self. Their belief in God, themselves, and in you, is so infectious.

Such I will hold like diamonds.

‎”‘Life is about the people you meet and the things you create with them.”

I’m spending the evening with my grandpa, who is watching the live broadcast of the South Korea – US Summit – President Obama just attempted some Korean. I’m trying to imagine what it’d be like to be the president- having to constantly appear unfazed by anything. I love my grandpa because he’s almost 90 years old but still deems it important to exercise every morning (before I wake up, usually) and be in touch with the news every night.

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I’m writing this in line with some things I’ve read lately about producing any sort of creative work. It started with an enlightening description from an animator friend – he said they were taught that all people have the ability to draw – it’s only after getting the bad drawings out of your system – 10,000 to be exact – that the good ones appear. Of course, there’s the famous 10,000 hours rule to become an expert at anything.

Seth Godin wrote about how we never have talker’s block, because we talk a lot without caring about the quality of it. Which is hardly the case for writing. The solution? Write every single day. Poorly, in public, till you can write better.

Ira Glass spoke about this well:

“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners. I wish someone had told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase; they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know that if it’s normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you finish one piece. It’s only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take me a while. It’s normal to take a while. You just gotta fight your way through.”

With a lot of my plate of late and the constant need to come up with fresh ideas, and execute them, with deadlines looming, I don’t think it’s pure coincidence that God brought all these messages at the same time, to keep on pushing on even when what I come up with may not meet my idea of perfection. It’s a small part of His big picture.

UPDATE: Copyblogger echoes the same sentiments:

10 Steps to Becoming a Better Writer

1. Write.
2. Write more.
3. Write even more.
4. Write even more than that.
5. Write when you don’t want to.
6. Write when you do.
7. Write when you have something to say.
8. Write when you don’t.
9. Write every day.
10. Keep writing.