Tag Archives: gratitude

Completion

This is post 365 which means that I have successfully completed the post a day for a year challenge.  

This year has been transformational to say the least.  It has been a year of getting myself back.  I won’t get into all of the details but my life was basically turned upside down for a while.  It was necessary though. For years I had been struggling with an issue that I wasn’t enough.  I was somehow lacking as a human and had to prove my self to the world.  I cared so much about what everyone else thought that this became my identity.  I wasn’t happy.  Change needed to happen.

Over the past year, I have let go of a lot.  That psychological nonsense still tries to creep in but I’ve hired guards.  In letting go of everything, the irony is that I gained so much more than I let go of.  One of the traits that I required to succeed was discipline.  My dad often spoke about a bunch of ideas that he never did anything with, so I was determined to make something, anything happen.  I started this blog.  Honestly, it probably would have just become another fucking project that I start and don’t finish if it wasn’t for the challenge that I imposed upon myself.  This has been a lesson in discipline, self-control, creativity and finishing.  Remember this:  The point of starting anything, is to finish.  Otherwise don’t.  You will end up drowning in incomplete projects that inevitably leave you with the sense that it is YOU who is not complete.

I almost gave up twice.  That is it.  One was out of pure laziness and the other was because I was struggling with being on Earth, so the whole blog thing didn’t seem that important.  Regardless, I persisted.  You can actually read the points in my life last year where I was struggling with myself or some circumstance.  This blog has been like a reflecting pond for me that others get to gaze into and post comments on or ‘like’.

Many people have been so supportive during this time.  In no particular order:

Reid:  It was you who inspired me to do this.  I believe you called it blog therapy.  Indeed it proved positive.  Your friendship means the world to me.  We are spiritual allies and we both found our audience.

Megan:  Your constant encouragement has reminded me of something so important. Love, above all else is what matters and without honest communication we are all lost.  Thank you.  Life without you would seem pointless.

Dave:  My brain functions better while interacting with your brain.  You have shown me what discipline is and have offered a shining example of what it takes to step up as a man and a father.  Oscar is one lucky kid.

Mom:  You are the reason that I love so much.  Thank for everything (including putting up with my shit and me posting about your shit).  Unconditional love is my inheritance.  You showed me that love is not something to be earned.  Love is a gift.

Something very cool happened this year that I wasn’t really expecting.  To date I have 74 subscribers and average over 100 hits per day.  That may not be a big deal in the larger scheme of things but it means a lot to me.  I now have ‘virtual’ friends in India, England, the States, Europe and the Philippines.  I sincerely appreciate every one of you.  Your comments, emails and encouragement reminds me that there are many of us all over the world that see through the pop media’s perpetual death chant and get what life is about.

Love.  Perspective.  Communication.  Experience.  Laughter.

I will continue to write.  It is just that the self induced pressure is off now.

Thank you for accompanying me on this journey!

With Love,

Chris:)


Gratitude

What you appreciate, appreciates!

Wake up today and turn your mind towards that which you are grateful for.  Make a list and check it twice.  Be grateful that you know how to write a list or have access to a pen and paper.  Be grateful for the little things and the big things and everything in between.

Think of a person or situation at work that drives you up the fucking wall and be grateful for the lessons that you are learning from them.  Are they teaching you patience, tolerance or how to speak up for yourself?  Love your enemies.  They are the catalyst for your growth as a human being.

Be grateful that you’ve made it this far.  You’ve experience a whole lot in your life, some good and some not so good.  Appreciate it.  Life is delicate and we tend to take it for granted.  Someday however, it will be done and from what I have learned so far, it may be sooner than we all think.  I swear that I was seven years old just yesterday and now I’m thirty-seven.  What happened?

The easiest way to change your day from shitty to great is to start cultivating gratitude and changing your mind about it.


The countdown…

This is my 265th post.  I only have 99 to go to fulfill my personal commitment to do a blog post a day for a year.  Weird.  I’ve grown accustomed to doing this.  It doesn’t make me money and not too many people would care if I gave up but I don’t care about that.  This has been a fantastic exercise in creative development and discipline. 

I’m not sure what I will do after I have completed this process but if you know me you’d know that it is difficult to shut me up. 

I have already started another blog called www.lovewineandfood.com with my friend Serge.  It’s just in the beginning stages but it will be the central hub for all things love, all things wine and all things food.  Or perhaps some Angel investor will read about the recreational music making/community development activities that I do with seniors, kids, refugees and people with special needs and kick in some cash to the cause.  Who knows?  

I also thought it would be neat and easy to compile the 365 posts of love, art & fear into a book or two or three.  I’m not sure yet but it does feel fucking great to have these options available:)

So far, I’ve over-come some fears, made some friends in the States, the UK and India and have learned that it is absolutely okay to express yourself without restraint or censorship.

Thank you for reading. 

Chris


Debt too

My last name is Scholl.  The original German meaning for this is “one who is indebted to another”.  At first, I thought this was a terrible meaning but then an associate of mine pointed out that it was a matter of perspective. 

“Who are you indebted to?” she asked. 

God?  The Creator?  Your community?  The people whom you love?  The electromagnetic phenomena that arises to hold reality as we know it together?  The doctors who saved you?  Your boss?  The Government?  Banks?  Your self?

I suppose she was right.  Who am I working for?  In what am I in service to?  These could be painful questions to ask ourselves but so what?  What are we here for?  I do not believe for a second that we are here to live a selfish, comfortable life free from pain and strife.  This is where we fall.  Life will kick our ass. 

I called this ‘debt too’ because of my previous post about the debt crisis.  Really, the crisis is all in our mind.  The positive and negative balance.  They have to, otherwise reality would collapse.  Oddly enough, this is mirrored in accounting.  The debits and credits, positive and negative MUST balance.  In the case of banks; the bank holds the positive that you order into existence and then enter the negative amount into a computer via accounts.  Nothing is owed because it balances.  This is one of the most challenging concepts to get your head around in banking by the way.  It is so simple and when you see it you might burst out laughing like I did.  Honestly, my first thought was “why didn’t I think of THAT scam?”.  Brilliant.    

But this post is not about banks or debt.  This post is about indebtedness with a positive spin.  Everyday, when I wake up I can choose to serve love or fear.  I can ask myself whom or what I am grateful for.  That gratefulness will tell me exactly whom or what I am indebted to. 

This is what I shall serve and work for.


More Thanks…

Now that the Canadian version of Thanksgiving has passed and most of us have gone back to whatever the day after brings, I encourage everyone (regardless of national holidays) to continue being thankful.  BE thankful as a state of mind.  Literally, invest your day counting blessings rather than troubles and your mind/world will transform around this decision.  It is simple. 

I know that some of us will be thankful that we spent time with our family and some of us will be grateful that it is over.  Be grateful that you have a family to drive you crazy and love them anyway.  Be thankful for the turkey that you are absolutely tired of eating (or tofurky for vegetarians).   

The simplest form of gratitude that I can think of is to be thankful that we as humans have the ability to be thankful.  Indulge in that ability.

My friend Reid had a great post about this the other day.  Click here!


Giving thanks

If I ever find myself in a place of unrest, anxiety or confusion I begin to give thanks.  Even if I am in the shittiest of shitty moods or the worst has happened I can find something to be grateful for.  Sometimes, I don’t want to but I cannot escape the truth of my choice.

The truth is that we all have an abundance of things to be grateful for.  Most of these things are not things. 

As most of us in the west sit down and break bread together, giving thanks for the blessings in our life on this day, I have a suggestion…

Wake up tomorrow and do the same.  Then the next day and the next and so on.  Giving thanks one day a year and exchange gifts/memories on another is great but will provide nothing repetitious ritual. 

Every day is ripe for giving thanks.


182.5

Actually, this is post 182.  This means that I have successfully made it half way through my post a day for a year challenge!!!  I just wanted to take the time to thank those of you who have been with me on the journey for your support, ideas and comments. 

I started this in order to invoke a greater creative writing discipline and after about a month wondered what the hell I was thinking.  I’ve almost quit about 5 times to date.  All 5 times have been when I was in a terrible head space and couldn’t see how I could possibly write about anything worthy.  I am very grateful that I didn’t allow my mood to dictate my capabilities.  We need those shitty days for perspective.  This has taught me to keep going in the face of disheartening circumstance.  

I will continue the journey to 365 posts and then I will decide what I want to do from there.  For the next 182.5, I will have to make a choice every day between the profound and the profane.  Admittedly, the profane is easier because it requires nothing more than thinking up stupid shit and delivering it in a way that (hopefully) makes people chuckle.  Profound thoughts happen when I clear my mind to give them enough space to enter and then I have to put it into words.  No menial task.

I called the site Love, Art & Fear because of what I witness everyday.  People creating.  We have these two fundamental contrasting emotions; Love & Fear.  It is light & shadow.  We create from either of these.  Sometimes a mix of both is present. 

We humans, as experiential artists are extensions of creation and have the choice to use whichever source we see fit to draw from in the unfolding journey called “our life”.  I do my best to choose love but some days I buy into the bullshit.  Thank God for grace.

Thanks again everyone:)


Tima

I imagine the timeline of each persons life as a work of art.  When I ask you to dance, we share a moment.  A song.  We only have so much time here on Earth and it is in our best interest and the best interests of our community to make the most of that time.  I do believe that we are collectively in the process of entering a brand new way of functioning together within this experience called “reality”.  It may take some time though as I imagine that those who have been profiting from the former paradigm will fight the unfolding light.  It is sad that these beings would choose this fear but their life too is part of the art of it.


Love too

When I feel genuine love from another for who I am, I feel compelled to be better.  I don’t feel this when I have to live up to expectations.  I have had times in my life where I have felt like I am not enough or need to change based on what another thinks.  In this I am deluded.

My conundrum was this:  I am struggling in feeling like I am a failure or not enough from constant relational re-enforcement of another through their conditional love.  (I love you if…)  Would it not be just as conditional of me to demand that the other change their ways of conditional love?  The answer was simple.  The other doesn’t have to change.  I simply had to make a decision.

I had made the mistake of allowing the world to tell me who I am.

I know now that real love (acceptance, giving and support) is co-nurturing and this is true inspiration.  Love begets love.  It is the seed, the soil, the sun, the water, the growing process and the tree.


Volunteer appreciation day!

In a conversation with a friend the other day, I mentioned what a committment it is to write a blog post (off the top of my head) every day for a year.  I also think that it is a huge committment for my subscribers to read my non-sense every day and for that reason I’m dedicating this post to these lovely people.

Thanks also to anyone who just simply clicks on the site so that my hits increase and I feel better about my self. 

The reason why I committed to this challenge and take it seriously is simple:  Discipline.  This exercise in creative thinking is helping me develop the discipline of what Seth Godin calls “shipping”.  In his book ‘Linchpin’, he states “The difference between a successful artist and a failed one happens after the idea is hatched.  The difference is the race to completion.  Did you finish?”.  Shipping is the discipline of follow through and that is something that I have struggled with over the years.  I had a tendency of starting a bunch of projects and never finishing them.   The point of starting is to finish. 

At the end of 365 days I will have a book called “Love, Art & Fear”. 

I’ve already completed a digital poetry/photo book entitled ‘poetistics’ and made it for sale through the DNA Rhythms site as a fundraiser for kids drumming groups.  I have an art show in May.  This is fun.  

I am dumbfounded at how simple success can be.  You just have to discipline yourself to do all of the boring shit that comes after you get your weed induced idea for a hot dog holder.  Unless of course you wake up sober, look at the idea and realize that no one on Earth wants or needs a fucking hot dog holder.  Wouldn’t that technically be your hand?  Or a bun? 

I sincerely thank you for joining me on this journey and hopefully I inspire, entertain, make you think or piss you off along the way. 

Thank you. 

Chris


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