Successfully Avoiding Anything Planned

Navigate

I’ve heard stories of Native Hawaiians who navigated their canoes by the stars.  They found direction by studying the sun, ocean swells, and the flight patterns of seabirds.  I’m lucky if I can find the Big Dipper.  It’s incredible they learned to use elements in nature to map specific destinations.  I’ll try to remember this next time I yell at my GPS for re-calculating when I miss a turn. 

Having a clear goal with a specific target can be challenging to find in creative pursuits. 

Here’s a common theme I’ve experienced:  When you first start doing something you love, whether it’s painting,  writing,  or singing in a Mötley Crüe cover band,  you really have no idea where it’s going to go.  You start with a lot of ideas,  energy,  and high-hopes and at first things are going great.  You’re excited to finally be doing something you’ve always wanted to do.  Then, seemingly out of nowhere,  you get all snagged in a thicket.  You have no idea where you are or why you started in the first place.  Doubt sets in.  You start looking at other successes  with envy and wonder if you’ll ever make it to that level.  It’s at this point I start looking around at other things and wonder if I’ll ever have the same drive I had when I first started.

I start to hear Maverick and Goose sing, “You’ve Lost that Loving Feeling” with Portuguese subtitles to a confused onlooker.

 

I’m learning that above all else having the space and time to create is really what’s most important.  It’s not like you get to a specific milestone and say yeah,  that was awesome,  as much as I love doing this I think I’ll stop now.  No-you keep going because it gives you life.  It inspires others.  It gets you out of bed in the morning knowing you might get a little better at it today.  The reward is in the creation and discovering things about yourself and the world.  This is of course easy to think and say but much more challenging to practice.  So what do we do when,  as the song says,  start to perder aquele sentimento de amor?

It’s right around the time I want to give up that something happens that says keep going.  Just a little further.  Yes,  it’s hard,  but you’re on the right track.  I’m learning to really enjoy these victories rather than just push passed them.  It’s part of navigating the seemingly impossible waters.  It’s my tendency to be so focused on what may happen in the future that I miss out on the present.

I’m getting a little tired of looking back with nostalgia on things I didn’t fully enjoy while they were happening only to wish they’d happen again.

Here are three experiences I want to celebrate in the here and now:

Turbo Pascal

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I’m still in shock and awe that not only was the music from our little band that could, Turbo Pascal, reissued last year, but it’s been nominated for a Na Hoku Award taking place May 23rd.  When you write songs and release them into the wild you can go years in the desert wondering if anyone is listening or cares  (Nearly 20 years to be exact).  Thanks to Pass Out Records,  who we approached to remaster our discography,  the band has new life.  This whole experience,  above all else,  has revitalized my desire to be part of making more music.

Almost Local

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Fun times being on my friend Fernando Pacheco’s TV Show,  Almost Local.  He filmed short interviews and stand-up comedy sets of local comedians and aired them as part of his sketch comedy show on OC16 in Hawaii.  Episode 3 will air again this week Wednesday @ 6pm and will also be available online.

 

Comedy @ The Kroc

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I’m looking forward to performing stand-up at another Comedy at The Kroc event this Fall.  The last one was an awesome experience performing for a fun all-ages crowd in a sweet state of the art venue.

 

Maybe the real success of the creative life is being able to look back at how much we’ve grown in our craft,  how many friends we’ve made along the way,  and how much we’ve been able to teach others.  Perhaps these should be the beacons we look toward to navigate our way.

 

Learning how to steer,

A

 

About the author

I work as a chaplain and play as a comedian and singer-songwriter. My wife and I met in Chicago and have lived in Honolulu and Portland, OR. We now chase our two daughters, Naomi and Leona, around Santa Rosa, California.

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