Marlow's Musings 6/2/24
Insights, adventures and fun stuff from this week.
Audio narration by David Marlow
Twelve years ago today, my mother-in-law sent her first-ever text message. Alice, who goes by Jane for reasons too complicated to discuss now, was recently widowed. She was staying with us for a week to attend our daughter Helaina’s graduation.
My father-in-law’s passing had left her alone for the first time in her life. The family was concerned about her and encouraged her to stay in touch through technology.
Like many people, as they got older, she wasn’t sure how to use technology. Helaina sat down with her and showed her how easy it was, relating it to a typewriter, which Jane was, of course, quite familiar with using.
Now, Jane sends texts and pictures with her phone, as well as does online shopping and banking—all from a moment of caring, patience, and connection with her granddaughter.
A year ago this week, I started something new—a Sunday edition, now known as Marlow’s Musings.
Here’s how I introduced it…
Welcome to the brand-new Sunday format, where I'll be sharing a blend of my musings, intriguing finds, and the week's most compelling snippets you might have missed.
Each week, I'll be curating an assortment of reads, insights, and thought-provoking takeaways that have caught my attention.
I'll be drawing inspiration from various sources, including the articles I'm devouring, books I’m reading, intriguing conversations I've had here with some of you, and even my occasional musings on platforms like LinkedIn.
Here goes…
Like so many things on my quest for Ikigai, it started small with some musings—things that interested me and I hoped would interest you.
As I reflect on the past year of Marlow's Musings, I'm filled with gratitude for the journey we've shared. What began as a small venture, like Jane's first foray into texting, has expanded beyond anything I could have envisioned at the beginning.
In recent weeks, I've been thrilled to welcome many new subscribers to our Sunday musings. Becasue there are so many new faces in our Moai, our Ikigai family, allow me to share a story that holds a special place in my heart—the very first ‘interesting thing’ I shared in this space a year ago. It's a story that resonates with the spirit of growth, connection, and the power of small beginnings.
(The first) Interesting Thing I Saw this Week
One Piece of Advice that Changed This Artist’s Life
Not sure what led me to this as I don’t watch a lot of videos. The advice in this one is so compelling I watched it three times end to end.
Draw the same thing every day for a year.
What?
Draw the same thing every day for a year.
That’s the advice a mentor gave this artist.
He decided to draw an ibis like the one above.
That’s when it gets interesting!
This video is packed with fantastic advice for anyone wanting to unleash their creativity.
It's filled with catchy and effective principles (and yes, some alliteration too and you know how I love alliteration!) for those who want to kick procrastination to the curb.
Here’s the video…
In case you missed it…
This week, Ikigai Thought for Today: Being Present
Ikigai is about living into our purpose, as our most authentic selves, in every area of our lives. This requires learning to be present.
I share three small things you can do to be more present.
Ikiquest+
This week's Coffee Contemplation: A Monk and a Riddle
A quote from Randy Komisar’s book, The Monk and the Riddle, inspired this on the biggest risk we can take in life.
Ikiquest+ subscribers can listen to it in audio narration or read the transcription.
If you aren’t yet an Ikiquest+ Subscriber, give it a try for free by clicking the box here.
Comment of the Week:
This week’s comment came from Stephanie on another project I started a year ago and, unlike the Musing, decided to discontinue. It was a project to highlight creators on LinkedIn. There are so many beautiful voices there being drowned out by algorithm-driven visibility.
I was pondering Seth Godin's question, “What would you do if you knew you would fail? What would be worth doing even though it's not going to work?”
Of course, I had hopes, but knowing there was every chance it wasn’t going to work, I did it anyway.
Based on the comments here David— I suspect you are rethinking the definition of success (or at least I hope you are)! You created community, bolstered the confidence and reach of innovators, made some cool connections/friends for yourself, exposed us to new ideas and thinking, and showed us that you can’t beat the LinkedIn algorithm.
I actually think your post is a broader lesson/reminder that sometimes we set out to achieve one goal and find that we accomplished much more than we intended.
It didn’t work out as I had planned, but I’m glad I did it. The entire story is available here.
Quote I’m Pondering
This thought is from Buckminster Fuller…
How often I found where I should be going only by setting out for somewhere else.
Final Thoughts
This week was filled with temporal anniversaries like the first Marlow’s Musing. Also, some endings like the creative project and my grandkids’ soccer seasons.
I stood in the rain all day yesterday coaching my grandson’s final soccer games so that his dad could dance with my granddaughter in the Father/Daughter portion of her dance recital.
E scored a goal and played a smart and courageous game. He ended a season of growth and learning with things he can take with him forever. C had a blast with her dad, of course. The way she approaches dance with discipline, focus, and a sense of joy is a testament to her passion for it.
Both are uncovering their Ikigai by exploring, doing things, and starting small. As the last game ended, I paused on the field for a moment, soaked to the bone. In my heart, I held space for the now and not yet, beginnings and endings…and more of life to muse on.
Quest well.
As always, thank you for your beautiful stories and reflections. I look forward to them every week! 😊
I enjoyed the story of trying new things without the worry of failure. And how wonderful that Jane learnt something completely different at a later stage in life.