G. Steve Journal

The Sense of Wonder

Perhaps it is curiosity — about anything and everything — that made me the writer I am. It has never left me…

With this attribute goes another which I prize above everything else, and that is the sense of wonder. No matter how restricted my world may become I cannot imagine it leaving me void of wonder. In a sense I suppose it might be called my religion. I do not ask how it came about, this creation in which we swim, but only to enjoy and appreciate it.

                                                                                                                        –– Henry Miller

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Watch The World Turning

Even members of the creative community can succumb to the prevailing sentiment that one must keep busy, though often little distinction is made between being busy and being creative.

A recent piece in the NY TIMES “Is Anyone Happy Anymore?” was a reminder of the importance of taking time to pause, reflect on and be grateful for the moment – like the farmer, Michael, who’s questioned by the author:

Because Michael seemed to be working on the land all day every day, into the fall of darkness and beyond, and never complained, I once asked him if he ever took a holiday.
“A holiday?” He looked at me like the innocent I was.
“I mean, what do you do to be happy?”
The question was a novelty to him and he considered it from all sides before answering.
“When I want a holiday,” he said at last, “I go over the road as far as the meadow. I go in there, take off my jacket, and lay down on it. I watch the world turning for a bit, with me still in it.”
He smiled then, and held me in his blue Atlantic eyes, full of the ordinary wisdom of a well-lived life, a wisdom that saw the many failings of the world but our still breathing and dreaming in it, and with a conclusive nod that defeated all arguments said, “That’s happiness.”

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As Fast As You Can

Freelancer's Union founder Sara Horowitz reflected recently on the eve of her moving on about her guiding philosophy which, not surprisingly, is relevant to all of the creatives her organization represents:

I have this eternal faith that good people are going to keep struggling. There’s this beautiful phrase, which is something to the effect of “You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to desist from it."

The baton’s passed to you, you run as fast as you can, then you pass it to the next one. Whatever is difficult in our world, we have the obligation to try really hard.