Just Keep Breathing

At summer camp last week, I also faced my fear of drowning and had a "scuba experience" -- half day of scuba for beginners. I wanted to experience a little of what my son was doing since he was getting his PADI certification. I had never scuba dived before and had only learned how to snorkel four year before, the last time we went to Catalina Island with scouts. I initially panicked when we started to actually breath underwater, but I overcame it and progressed to actually going on a short dive. Where I lost it was when I looked up and realized how deep under the water I was. I started hyperventilating and had to get to the surface. It was embarrassing since there were all these young kids doing it, too, and they seemed to be enjoying the experience. The instructor, a young French-Canadian woman, kept encouraging me to trust the equipment and, "just keep breathing. Remember, the surface is only a feet away."

With those words in my head I went back out again and faced my fears. I wasn't entirely successful in vanquishing them, but I will never forget the life lesson I learned that day -- When you begin to panic just keep breathing. The surface is only a few feet away.

Drawing Conclusions

Last week my son and I went to summer scout camp on Catalina. One of the things I did for several trips was bring my sketch book to make drawings. However I never did. My excuse in the past was usually my involvement in "scout management." I think another secret reason was that others would mock me for being an artist and think me not manly enough for boy scouts. Most of the other scout leaders were men who did manly things like hunting, fishing, riding dune buggies, etc. I didn't want to seem the prissy artsy man.

One thing that really helped me overcome this was my son. Last year he became very serious about his art and at the end of the school year he said, "Dad, I'd love to spend some time with you this summer sketching." I realized that I was avoiding doing something that was a special gift. How many dads can proudly declare they are artists (though I would never claim I'm a great one).

Another thing was that recently did some sketches for a visualization of a project at work. They were incredibly well received. I realized that I had a unique skill not many others possess. One that is prized not despised.

The confluence of these two events woke the artist in me and I took some time to sketch in camp. The results were surprising. The drawings were not half-bad, but what really surprised me was the reaction of the other men. They expressed surprise and appreciation for what I did and even asked me to use my artistic skills to help with two things when we had the Aquacade, a kind of camp Olympics, the last day of camp. For the scoutmaster belly flop the scoutmaster had to wear a costume. They asked me to paint something on the body of an assistant scoutmaster. He was rather large so I painted "Save the Whale" on his back and a picture of a happy whale underneath. Everyone loved it. The kids were especially impressed with the whale. I also helped the boys with the sandcastle contest. They wanted to make a soapbox race car. It won second place and our troop won the Aquacade.

A couple days ago at the troop meeting the assistant scoutmaster stood up and publicly praised me for making him look good for the contest. I realized that I need to have more pride in myself an my abilities and not be afraid to be different.

Tempus Fugit

Tired of lying in the sunshine staying home to watch the rain
You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today
And then one day you find ten years have got behind you
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun

And you run and you run to catch up with the sun, but it's sinking
Racing around to come up behind you again
The sun is the same in a relative way, but you're older
Shorter of breath and one day closer to death
Time by Pink Floyd

Time flees
Time flees, time flies, time flows with or without us. It's been almost 6 months since my last entry. Since then my position at work changed. I'm now in a group that technology strategy and have an opportunity to use my graphic art and multimedia training. A happy advance. An opportunity to seize.

Little by little, step by step I'm continuing to gain control of my life -- exercising more, getting more done. The key for me is early to bed, early to rise.

Latitude, Letterman, and Longitude
In a recent article for the Journal of Labor Economics, “Cues for Timing and Coordination: Latitude, Letterman, and Longitude,” authors Daniel S. Hamermesh, Caitlin Knowles Myers, and Mark L. Pocock researched the effects of daylight savings 'spring ahead' across the country shows that television, not the sun, determines sleep schedule. Interesting. Seems to be true in my case since late night TV watching seems to be the current main cause of days that are "frittered away." Days I don't give in to this impulse usually are my most productive.

I love the animation in the Pink Floyd video. I desperately want to do one like that. But in the words of Pink Floyd:

Every year is getting shorter, never seem to find the time
Plans that either come to naught or half a page of scribbled lines

It's time to take action.

Sharpen the (chain)Saw: Week 7

"I never let school interfere with my education." - Mark Twain


The 7th Covey Habit is Sharpen the Saw. The analogy -- if you spend all your time cutting down trees and never take the time to sharpen your saw, eventually your saw will dull and you won't be able to cut down any more trees. Taking time off, or a well-deserved vacation can be "sharpening" activities, but even better is taking the time to improve yourself, especially education and skill-building. Lifelong learning is something I embrace wholeheartedly. Lifehack lists 15 steps to lifelong learning. They make a lot of sense to me.

Getting On and Off and Back on the Wagon
My last entry was over a month ago. Several things conspired to knock me off course, a major project at work for which I stared working nights and weekends, getting sick with a cold that turned into bronchitis, the Christmas and New Year's holidays. I was also knocked off course by winter. My morning exercise suffered. It was too cold and rainy to go outside.

Winter Makes you SAD
More than that is seems winter itself is a downer. Research shows As daylight wanes, millions begin to feel depressed, sluggish and socially withdrawn. They also tend to sleep more and eat more. By spring or summer the symptoms abate, only to return the next autumn. There's a name for this -- seasonal affective disorder or SAD. For many winter does literally makes you SAD.

Our Greatest Glory
If you are trying to accomplish something it's guaranteed there will be obstacles, both internal and external, that can lead to failure. However, one of the greatest educators in history, Confucius, says -- “Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall”.

Or as Kitty Karr, Covey trainer, wrote me in an email "don't give up just cuz you had a bad week, the next week (actually, the next DAY) is a chance to get back on the bandwagon!




Why Chainsaw
I picked the video of the chainsaw sculptor to start this piece because it shows what you can do with a properly sharpened saw. Also, in keeping with the fire/firefighter theme of this blog, the chainsaw is one of the main tools use to fight fires. Most of all it shows how something mundane can be used to create a work of art. This epitomizes the Covey spirit of making our mundane lives into a work of art through how we approach each day.

I want to create a masterpiece with mine.