Category: Inspiration

Must See "A Message For All of Humanity"

4/4/2013

Here is a remix of Charlie Chaplin's speech in "The Great Dictator"

I simply had to include it here because I think it's truly inspirational (and a great example of music, picture and words coming together to create something uniquely powerful)

"More than cleverness, we need kindness and gentleness"

I love that. Don't you find that in conversation there is a tendency to be clever, to 1 up each other. Don't we all get a little caught up in being 'clever'. Think of what kind of positive change we could make in our close relationships if we chose to switch out cleverness for kindness and gentleness even only half the time.

I'm sorry but I don't want to be an emperor. That's not my business. I don't want to rule or conquer anyone. I should like to help everyone if possible; Jew, Gentile, black men, white. We all want to help one another. Human beings are like that. We want to live by each others' happiness, not by each other's misery. We don't want to hate and despise one another. In this world there is room for everyone. And the good earth is rich and can provide for everyone. The way of life can be free and beautiful, but we have lost the way.

Greed has poisoned men's souls; has barricaded the world with hate; has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed. We have developed speed, but we have shut ourselves in. Machinery that gives abundance has left us in want. Our knowledge as made us cynical; our cleverness, hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery we need humanity. More than cleverness, we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost. The aeroplane and the radio have brought us closer together. The very nature of these inventions cries out for the goodness in man; cries out for universal brotherhood; for the unity of us all.

Even now my voice is reaching millions throughout the world, millions of despairing men, women, and little children, victims of a system that makes men torture and imprison innocent people. To those who can hear me, I say "Do not despair." The misery that is now upon us is but the passing of greed, the bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress. The hate of men will pass, and dictators die, and the power they took from the people will return to the people. And so long as men die, liberty will never perish.

Soldiers! Don't give yourselves to brutes, men who despise you and enslave you; who regiment your lives, tell you what to do, what to think and what to feel! Who drill you, diet you, treat you like cattle, use you as cannon fodder! Don't give yourselves to these unnatural men---machine men with machine minds and machine hearts! You are not machines! You are not cattle! You are men! You have a love of humanity in your hearts! You don't hate! Only the unloved hate; the unloved and the unnatural.

Soldiers! Don't fight for slavery! Fight for liberty! In the seventeenth chapter of St. Luke, it's written "the kingdom of God is within man", not one man nor a group of men, but in all men! In you! You, the people, have the power, the power to create machines, the power to create happiness! You, the people, have the power to make this life free and beautiful, to make this life a wonderful adventure. Then in the name of democracy, let us use that power.

Let us all unite. Let us fight for a new world, a decent world that will give men a chance to work, that will give youth a future and old age a security. By the promise of these things, brutes have risen to power. But they lie! They do not fulfill their promise. They never will! Dictators free themselves but they enslave the people! Now let us fight to fulfill that promise! Let us fight to free the world! To do away with national barriers! To do away with greed, with hate and intolerance! Let us fight for a world of reason, a world where science and progress will lead to all men's happiness.

Soldiers, in the name of democracy, let us all unite!

- Josh

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Have You Been Feeding Your Creativity?

11/15/2012

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Ray Bradbury was quoted as once having said:

“If you stuff yourself full of poems, essays, plays, stories, novels, films, comic strips, magazines, music, you automatically explode every morning like Old Faithful. I have never had a dry spell in my life, mainly because I feed myself well, to the point of bursting. I wake early and hear my morning voices leaping around in my head like jumping beans. I get out of bed to trap them before they escape.”

I won’t get into what it is you should be feeding your creativity, because that’s a whole other future post and discussion. I’ll say that Bradbury above seems to cover everything, but other famous creative types would encourage a diet for your creativity based on media of substance (see H.R. Giger’s Frequently Asked Questions section on his website and scroll down to the letter addressed “Dear Aspiring Artist” under “When Should fans contact Giger’s agent” for an example). Shelve that for now…

But isn’t the title to this article misleading then? No. That’s because the answer to the title question is yes. You have been feeding you’re creativity with all the things Ray mentioned above.

The part that’s worth highlighting in the paragraph is about the “waking up early to catch the beans” bit. Because your Old faithful’s been producing. It just needs to be tapped. Getting to the point where you feel like you can “Leap” out of bed to catch the jumping beans takes some practice and confidence. Trapping them too takes some skill. All the same, the morning voices are there, if you spend the time to listen to them.

Have you been creative today?
How can you be creative?

- Josh

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Insights on writing: Creativity and the meaningful

7/23/2012

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I have this fear that I will use the same phrase or description in more than one of my creative works. Wouldn’t that be boring, unimaginative or even lazy? Most times I think so. In an effort to keep things fresh, I keep an eye out for those familiar pieces… But really, they stick out anyways like they were written in bold and size 16 font.

I know that getting stuck on trying to fix a recurring or banal line isn’t conducive to getting out a first draft - Get back to it later, right? Right. When you do get back to it (whenever that is), you try on different strategies targeting left or right brain type thinking (If you’re a fan of that theory). If you’re lucky, the by-product will be a stroke of genius or acceptable at worst. While a source of torment, working on it usually yields some progress if not at the very least will prove to be an exercise in learning about coping, standards and trying different strategies to get those creative juices pumping. Now. When you think about it, isn’t that a pretty awesome thing? You’re not just writing any more (as “just for fun” as you thought it was), you’re training your brain, making connections about what you do in the face of a writing obstacles, what you do in an effort to communicate on a level that’s important to you. The kicker here is that if the outcome is negative and you THINK your obstacle impossible to overcome, you may be training your brain for future negative outcomes.

The Positive effects of practice. That kind of thing doesn’t end with the period written in black ink at the end of a sentence. Practicing and doing can be THAT KIND of helpful across the board. Here’s a neat thought: Ever try an express how you feel towards someone? Does that ever come off as void of emotions or like you’re reading from a script? It can, and while doing is often times more important than speaking; meaningful, straight from the heart communication can be such a gift. The truth is we’ll all get tripped up in the recurring or banal lines of our past, or sometimes have rehearsed them so much that they are just about cement inside. My thoughts are that to move past it, we accepting what it is, think about expression, try on alternatives, let your right brain take a stab at it and keep practicing. The more you write, the higher the likeliness that you’ll run into it and also the more you will train your mind. The more we practice communicating, the better we get at that too. What a wonderful gift to yourself and to others, adding personal meaning to writing, to communication, to life.

- Josh

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Movie Wisdom: Jet Li’s “Fearless” Insightful Fist to the Face

4/18/2012

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Movies can have such an important influence on us. It can make for a springboard for discussion or help us make connections.

One clip I thought was really interesting was from the movie, “Fearless” starring Jet Li. Beyond remembering someone say that they had to adjust the camera’s because Jet Li’s movements were to quick to capture, a certain “Tea” scene sticks out in my mind.

I mean, It’s a martial arts movie and in typical fashion pits Li up against many foes but it’s when Li sits down for tea and answers his future opponents observation/question on Wushu fighting styles and fighting competition that really gets you thinking. Take a look.

“Through competition we can discover ourselves”. Pretty Deep. I wonder if that applies to anything beyond fighting?

- Josh

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Are You Stuck in The 'Waiting Place' ?

4/17/2012

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Heading towards the 'Waiting Place'

Dr. Seuss books are pumped full of wisdom, take for example “Oh the places you’ll go”. It’s a graduation speech with an important message of what pitfalls, obstacles and celebrations may lie ahead. At best it’s inspiring while at the very least, it’s hopeful in it’s best wishes with the gentle reassurance that trials in the wake of failure and solitude have been tried and conquered by others. Those things can be overcome!

What perhaps strikes me as the most important passage is the road to that most useless place, the ‘waiting place’..

For people just waiting...

“...waiting for wind to fly a kite

or waiting around for friday night

or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake

or a pot to boil, or a better break..."

Those two pages are excellent. I won’t quote the whole thing here but would suggest you pick up the book. While it’s great and geared for children, it does have some usefulness for adults.

So are you in that 'Waiting place'? Waiting for something to happen to begin to work towards what you want? What you need? Do you not know what you want or need and are just waiting for it to show itself?

Stop Waiting.

- Josh

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Refill Your Creativity Well. Check Out Liam Peters.

3/29/2012

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Deviant art is a great place to look for amazing artwork whether you’re just browsing or looking for some inspiration. That’ s where I came across Liam Peters’ work.

The pieces in his portfolio are diverse, but with a twist of darkness that seems to come through in more than a couple. What’s most interesting is the story that’s captured in each picture, like there is so much more than what’s there. Take a look at the rift colossus below for example.

The angle of the picture. The two persons ready to fight or flight at the foot of the colossus. What happened before? What happens after?

And what about “Dungeon Delve” Below?

If part of creating is synthesizing bits of images, ideas, writing, or whatever into something new, then why not replenish the well by taking a look at other people’s work. Especially if it’s as rich as the pictures above and below.

Check out Liam Peters’ portfolio and blog at http://liampeters.blogspot.ca/
He’s also posted that he does some freelance work. E-mail him for more.

- Josh

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Gimme a little Poetry: Robert Frost

3/28/2012

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Anyone who knows that stuff only really gets done when you push through being tired and keep on moving, also often times wonders what it feels like to have a guilt free rest. For those people, the phrase “and miles to go before I sleep” holds all too true.

Poems can be a source of inspiration and motivation amongst many things. Some times, when there's something in a poem that really resonates with you, revisiting it might even be therapeutic. To say the least, I am very fond of Robert Frost's “Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening” which I find perfectly captures the feelings associated with being on the go and longing to stop and smell the roses.

Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening
By: Robert Frost

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Those who might not know “Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening” might be more familiar with Frost’s “Nothing Gold Can Stay” from their school days, or even “Fire and Ice” as used in the Twilight Saga. Perhaps still you have written somewhere his “The Road Not Taken” to remind you of where you’ve been and where you’re going.

What Poems do you really enjoy? Write em down in the comments! be they works that motivate you, inspire or or simply resonate with you.

-Josh

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Hey You, thanks for stopping by.

Must See "A Message For All of Humanity"

Have You Been Feeding Your Creativity?

Insights on writing: Creativity and the meaningful

Movie Wisdom: Jet Li’s “Fearless” Insightful Fist to the Face

Are You Stuck in The 'Waiting Place' ?

Refill Your Creativity Well. Check Out Liam Peters.

Gimme a little Poetry: Robert Frost

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