Frankenstein by Design.

Just as Halloween was approaching I was in need of a book. I heard an interview on NPR that enlightened me to a new forward in the latest version of Frankenstein, I thought “perfect”. It’s taken me this long to progress past that and into the actual story. I didn’t get far before combining the message of authors actual preface with all that preceded it, and concluding that there is more to this than my preconceived notion of the tale.

Many associate the story Frankestein with the role played by Boris Karloff in the movie. This time of year most associate Karloff with the narration of the “Grinch Who Stole Christmas”:

Boris Karloff who narrated the story “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas”.

The story of Frankenstein is in essence is one that summarizes the results of man messing with nature. What is amazing however is how well the story is written by the author who was only 19 at the time. Her insights on the innovation process deemed worthy of recognition to me.

 “Invention, it must be humbly admitted, does not consist in creating out of void, but out of chaos: the materials must, in the first place, be afforded: it can give form to dark, shapeless substances but cannot bring into being the substance itself. In all matters of discovery and invention, even of those that appertain to the imagination”…”invention consists in th capacity of seizing on the capabilities of a subject and in the power moulding and fashioning ideas suggest to it.”

Mary Shelly (age 19)

“Frankenstein” published by Signet Classics

What the author is suggesting is applicable to the design process. To better understand the circumstances that surround the proposed need. A problem well stated is a problem half solved. You can dive into the issue with a hypothesis but you must stay open to unforeseen insights that could drastically influence the outcome. Embrace the chaos, it’s messy, risky and scary.

Karloff as Victor Frankenstein’s monster.

Wrong.

I’m sorry…is it just me or is the image and campaign a bit disturbing…

The headline on the post isn’t any better.

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Not to be taken literally…

Something about street signs as always fascinated be. Many things fascinate me…in-fact it’s endless.

Over the last few months I have been working on not taking myself so seriously. I am fairly open about having the blood cancer multiple myeloma. What I am not real open about is the burden of carrying that weight. In 1981 I was on my first backpack trip through the Rockies. I remember the feeling at the end of the day when you took your pack off and you felt like you could fly. There are times when I feel that same sense of relief with my current situation. Sometimes in the freedom of the moment, the dog off the leash runs through the brier bush. Other times I look around me and relize that on matter what happens tomorrow, the days leading up to it have been so overwhelmingly rewarding that my life feels complete.

Today one of the news letters I track had this quote of the day:

The timing was perfect. During the last week I have captured images of a few street signs with my iPod. Signs that if taken to literally, to seriously would not make sense. I know…having the luxury to spend time contemplating this is the result of a harvest from the blessed life I have lived thus far. As the son of a friend of my said, I have spent just about my whole life dealing with “first world issues”. I have never had to wait in line for 7 hours for a bowl of rice, I have never lived under a dictatorship, in my society women can vote, I have access to some of the worlds best medical care…I’m like you. So as a reminder…I share these photos with you. Especially in the time of year when we tend to indulge, in fiscal expenditure, food, beverage, longer then typical days.

Children crossing slow…some are wearing skirts but all are carrying a purse.

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Access to vans…sponsored by those who look like a butterfly.

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Something so very poetic about this.

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We have all been guilty of being to close to our work at some point…this guy was hungry.

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George Simons Jr., a great friend of mine who resides in the Great Pacific Northwest forwarded this one to me…Thanks George.

So join me…lighten up, role with it.

A Season for Memories

This weekend, one of my oldest and closest friends…had to say goodbye to one of their family pets.

I have contemplated this episodically from the moment I found out. Their dog was part of their loving family. We don’t live in the same area so when we planned on seeing their family, the premeditated thoughts always included the pets. To say “their dog” seems so dismissive and inaccurate…for she was so much more then just “a dog”. When we got the news…it was difficult to respond in words that are appropriate. I seem to encounter this more and more lately. The reflexive response is to instantly offer words of support and apology…next people tend to share their own stories of loss or illness. Having cancer and being on the other side of the curtain has given me a different view of this script.

When I heard the news I was at complete loss. I wanted them to know that, although I feel their loss and pain…I really can’t like they do. Over the last 5 years we too have lost a few pets. I was completly caught off guard as to how much it hurt…what a void it created…and how much I took their presence for granted. Their dog was the exceptional example what I want to be when I grow up…patient, loyal beyond belief, happy, relaxed, content, adhered to the family life, and always excited to see you. She was Purina’s definition of the perfect Flat Coat Retriever…even true to her expected life span…she was the perfect companion. And she will be missed.

Today…as I was exiting my car to head into the grociey store…I discoverd this crushed toy in the parking lot…almost right under my own wheels. Seeing this was like hitting proverbal virtual wall. The rain we encounterd over night had brought out the deep rich colors in all things outdoors. I had gone on a walk this moring and was still searching…still open to the new music in my world that the weather placed on the turntable.

I saw it…wondered what it was…and then was shocked upon discovering it’s original assembly. I tried to put it back together as if I could…as if I could through that gesture hold my friend…and put their world back together. I can’t. We take from losses like this, memories. The good ones will always dilute the bad. I had my camera with me becasue of the patterns in nature I had seen earlier and captured this photo as if it would subsitute for seeing her trot through the feilds again.

Season’s like this provide environments and surroundings that enable us to cherish those good memories and make more. Traditions that are recorded by all senses. Traditions that are challenged by changes that took place over the year. Changes that we have implemented on our own and some that just befall us. We keep moving on. We have to. But there is always room in our lugage for more good memories.

We all have a view of the after life…and mine is always changing. But for now…I view it as a place where there is no fear, a place where there is justice, places to gather with the ones we love, places to trout fish and places where pets like Kira, can run free.

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Designer jeans…designer cups…

Not sure who the designer was..but I happily payed the premium to obtain these over the others. And it’s reassuring to know that they are for “everyday use”…bringing good design to the masses and enhancing our lives in that way. Or maybe they are meant to only be used by “designers”…. or maybe you magically become a designer if you use one. A friend of mine at work who is our social media manager asked me to pick up the “marketing cups” next time.

Red dot in life’s blue water.

I was once told by a therapist that “this town is changing very fast…but if you live here, you don’t see it”.

Taken out of context it doesn’t make sense. But in essence what he was saying is that your daily routines over time become blinders. We convert from glaciers…plowing through rock, bold and fearless, taking on objects as if impervious to their presence, leaving impressions and scares as we pursue our dreams….to water…rolling through the landscape of a life, seeking the path of least resistance.

Sometimes as we drift down that river, fluidly dancing around obstacles and details that are most often left by other’s glacier activities we encounter something new. Something that forces us to stop flowing, something that dams the current and re-evaluate the situation.  We are forced to look up, clear our mask, snorkel and tread water until clarity is gained.

Sometimes we acquire extra weight…the clothing of our life gets saturated and it taxes our bouncy, we start to sink. We get lost in the current and the life lines we tied on when we dove in pull us to the surface. Our diving partners flip the plug on our bouncy vests and we surface. Other times we encounter hidden obstacles, drop-offs that we didn’t see as we focus on our casting towards the trout as we wad along. Submerged snags and sweepers that tap reflex rather than premeditated response.

I was discussing this with one of my life coaches last week…the need to not let these embolisms in life prevent us from adherence to a course. As I left the office I noticed a way-finding aid in the lobby that struck me as almost freekingly ironic. There on the wall was a directional aid listing all the locations and services in the building and which was on which floor.

iPod photo.

And a small red dot stating “You Are Here”. After the discussion I had just had, the clarity, confirmation and alignment it provided…the red dot was really all I needed to see. Amongst all the other crap going on in the world, my world, my body, my head…I am here…right here, right now. ”You Are Here”. Period.

iPod photo.

Instantly it stuck me. A buoy in the dive park…an executive summary of my current situation. My mask had been cleared. There is a statement that I have quoted often stating that “the journey is the reward”. I believe this and strive to adhere to it with the exception that it excuses the belief that God has provided a place of peace for us in the after-life…which I do believe with even more convection. But when you become consumed by moments of negative bouncy it is important that you don’t loose focus on where you really are, what you have accomplished and all the great things going on around you.

The smile of a friend you have not seen in 7 years, the sound of a child subtlety improving on her clarinet, the pet that runs to the door when you come home, the way your car floats down the highway at 80mph, Saturday morning showers, acknowledging the difference between a Oscar Schimdt guitar and a C. F. Martin, a thank y0u note from a co-worker that has become a good friend, the hug from an in-law.

So stop…you are here…you matter…seldom big events are more relative then small daily insights, and the clarity in life’s rewards they provide.

To be alive or to live fully?

Living fully is applicable to and an oppertunity for all of us…it rewards not withstanding.

It doesn’t require wealth, it doesn’t require a specific zip code, it doesn’t require a post card lawn, it doesn’t require travel, it doesn’t require education. All you need is an open heart and an open mind. This is the case whether you live for 5 more days or 150 more years…harvesting the most from each moment is…what it is all about. James Taylor claims in a song that “the secret of life is enjoying the passing of time”.

I have spent thousands of hours in reception offices and waiting room and witnessed painfully first hand that the path through life’s geography is not targeted on any one. None of us are immune to crashing a kite.

It has proven to be extremely difficult to keep that perspective in mind. But when I am finally able to put the fear aside and purse living in moment (with the help of coaching from my wife, kids and doctors) I find that it is these are the moments I remember.

Not the raise at work, not the patents I have received, not the design awards. It’s the moments I have pursed who I am and the quest to figure that out that I remember…minutes, days, weeks, months…years later when I play back my life that I remember.

With that in mind…I share this with you in hopes that you too find the little thumbnails that can become the Kodak moments.

A 11 year old car with a $150 dollar kayak…both of which I cherish as if they were brand new socks.

Self portrait with camera set on self timer and locked in dry box then held below the waterline.

Heading south to the launch…I know I am SO BLESSED that I have been able to live life like this…I thank the Lord daily.