The War of Art by Steven Pressfield

I read this book front to back in one sitting. It is a quick, powerful read. A week later, just to make sure I had the message down, I read it again.

Pressfield's The War of Art has the potential to be life-changing. It is the talk about art and creativity that you've been waiting to hear without realizing it. It is a kick to get going. It is a call to arms...if you're willing.

In The War of Art, Pressfield discusses a powerful repelling force called Resistance. Pressfield calls it out, exposes its many forms, so that now it can be recognized. And once you know what you are dealing with, you can fight it. The second part of the book tells you how, and the last part gets into artistic inspiration.

You may have noticed my updates have been few and far between. I have also not gotten much writing done.

Well, as the excuse is, life happened. (It's true. I picked up a second part time job that left me very little time to do anything. )

However, the real truth is that I fell victim to Resistance.

Resistance is caused by fear, mostly. But it is tricky and had disguised itself. "No one is reading this blog anyway," Resistance said. "You don't know what you are doing," and, "Suppose people DID read it, and didn't like it?" On and on it went.

It also manifested in tv show marathons and compulsive internet usage. I can easily lose hours and hours of time on the internet. I just keep clicking. Ironically, one activity that I do out of resistance is read self-help blogs. Instead of creating or writing every day, I read blog posts on the subject. If I want to win against Resistance, I can indulge in some blog reading, but spend more time actually getting words on the page.

I have been facing Resistance in another area of my life as well. I aim to find work abroad, a goal which terrifies me as much as it excites me. It is time to move on, yet I have found myself paralyzed, unable to make any progress towards my goal.

But that all is about to change, for now I recognize Resistance, and I realize it's not just something I have especially because I'm lazy. It's something that everyone deals with. And it can be defeated a day at a time.

Slowly, I can start living the life I've dreamed of.

(This goes without saying, but the book is strongly recommended.)

Grapefruit by Yoko Ono

I finished reading Grapefruit by Yoko Ono.

I read it in an afternoon and have since gone back to it to reread sections. I absorbed it like a sponge. I copied parts out of it to muse about further.

It is so different from anything else I have ever read.

It is a book of ‘instructions’, written as poems. They are simple and pleasing, short and powerful. There are instructions for creating music or paintings and other art 'pieces', some impossible, some bizarre, some painful,  some profound, and all intriguing. As you read the book, you start thinking in a new way. You start seeing the world around you, and the way you interact with it, differently.

This book encourages you to think more simply, and think towards peace - peace of mind, and peace with others. I’d encourage everyone to pick this book up and read it. (Yoko said to burn it afterwards, but I skipped that part.)

Here are some of my favorite parts:

WATCH
Go to the nearest fountain
and watch the water dance

COUNT
count the clouds
name them

CLOCK PIECE
Steal all the clocks and watches
In the world.
Destroy them.

MIRROR PIECE
Instead of obtaining a mirror,
obtain a person.
Look into him.
Use different people.
Old, young, fat, small, etc. 

SLEEPING PIECE I
Write all the things you want to do.
Ask others to do them and sleep
until they finish them.
Sleep as long as you can.
SLEEPING PIECE II
Write all the things you intend to do.
Show that to somebody.
Let him sleep for you until you
finish doing them.
Do for as long as you can.  

A GIRL IN SUNSET
A beautiful thing happened to
a girl in sunset.
It was so beautiful she couldn’t
get over it for a long time.
In fact, she’s still going around
soaked in the same evening light –
carrying her orange past.
In daytime she looks like a cutout
from a Grand Canyon postcard.
At night she glows.
Then she’s heard of a guy carrying
rain around him.

All poems from Grapefruit by Yoko Ono.