Marlow's Musings 9/15/24
Insights, adventures and fun stuff from this week.
Audio narration by David Marlow
Again this week I’m continuing the playful exploration of purpose through unlikely literary lenses. We first ventured from the horror-tinged halls of Stephen King…
With my interpretation...Chisel: The Haunting of Harold
Then last week I kept the thought experiment going in a slightly different direction by asking, “What if Dr. Seuss Wrote A Story About Purpose?”
Answering that question led to the creation of Piffle's Purpose...
Today, I'm imagining what J.K. Rowling might write. Here is my interpretation…
Barney Blitherin and the Pecular Potion of Purpose
Barnaby Blitherin lived in the shadow of his surname. At Hogwarts, those in Slytherin's house were masters of wizardry skills.
Barney was anything but. Potions exploded with alarming regularity, charms fizzled, and transfiguration attempts transgressed more than figured. Even his owl, Martyric, whose name implies sacrificial suffering, was underachieving, preferring napping over-delivering post.
On a particularly dreary Tuesday Barnaby stumbled upon a hidden room in the library. Dusty shelves supported leather-bound volumes documenting an obscure magic – Ikigai.
Skeptical, Barnaby delved into the dusty tomes. Each page rich with stories of forgotten talents rekindled, of misfits finding their niches.
A spark of hope ignited within Barnaby. It started almost imperceptively
small, then swelled and produced a warmth he'd never felt. He had a unique
purpose, his own Ikigai.
But what?
The following months were filled with whispered experiments. Martyric,
finally roused from his slumber, began delivering Barnaby peculiar items – a
gnarled twig, a chipped teacup, a rusty nail. The objects held no apparent
value, yet a tingle in Barnaby's fingers urged him to touch them.
Then, one moonlit night, it happened. Barnaby held the chipped teacup, closed his eyes, and whispered the Ikigai Incantation from his most recent reading...
🌀 Carpe Purposo
As soon as he uttered the words, the cup began shaking violently, and then, poof, a cloud of blue smoke rose from the table. When the smoke cleared, Barney couldn't believe his eyes. The cup had transformed into a miniature constellation, each chipped edge gleaming like a distant star.
Martyric hooted, a proud glint in his eyes. Barnaby's heart soared. He wasn't meant to brew potions, his Purposo was to create beauty from ashes and treasure from trash.
Barnaby's path wasn't easy. Skeptics scoffed, owls scoffed louder, and the occasional misfired enchantment resulted in floating teacups and talking nails. But Barnaby persisted, each chipped star-cup and cobbled constellation fueling his Ikigai.
His creations, a whimsical collection of floating teacups, talking nails, and miniature constellations, each unique and magical found their way first into the hands of Hogwarts students and then to wizards worldwide.
Barnaby Blitherin, the once woeful wizard, became a testament to the transformative power of Ikigai. He learned that magic wasn't just about spells and wands but about finding your purpose hidden within.
Carpe Purposo, seize your purpose.
Word of the Week
seize (v.)
/sēz/
take (an opportunity or initiative) eagerly and decisively.
take hold of suddenly and forcibly
Origins of the word seize speak of laying claim to something or to seek out. When we combine it with the modern meaning of take an opportunity we should be seeking and laying claim to our unique calling and purpose.
In case you missed it…
This week, there were two Ikigai Thoughts for Today; the first was the most widely read Thought for Today ever!
The Hardest Battle about the struggle to be ourselves in a world trying to make us into someone else.
The second, Rumors of Change about embracing the present was one of the most commented upon, between notes and the newsletter. Lots of conversation started by this one.
Ikiquest+
This week's Coffee Contemplation was another real-time reflection brought on by the ‘stone’ of my front porch being noisily removed. That is why this Coffee Contemplation has no audio.
Ikiquest+ subscribers can read it here.
If you aren’t yet an Ikiquest+ Subscriber, give it a try for free by clicking the box here.
Quote I’m Pondering
This thought is from David M. Jones…
We may be headed in the wrong direction, but we're making good time.
This gave me both a laugh and a reminder that not all progress is meaningful progress.
Final Thoughts
I finished the final edits of my book and sent them off this week. Now I'm kind of spent. It's been a while since I put so much of myself into a singular effort for such an extended period of time.
My brain is tired and I relate to Bilbo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings when he said, “I feel thin, sort of stretched, like butter scraped over too much bread.”
I'm fighting needing a rest and not wanting to rest because suddenly I have free time and 'should' be doing. The 'shoulds', 'have tos' and 'oughts' often keep us from living fully into our Ikigai.
There is a reason many faith traditions, including my own, include the practice of a sabbath or rest.
Perhaps it's time I heed that ancient wisdom and allow myself time to recharge.
Quest well.
I’m loving your version of purpose this week! And shall gleefully move about saying Carpe Purposo
And swirling my wrist and hand with great purpose!
This feels like a very important moment in your Ikigai quest and I am very excited to be a witness of it. Congratulations!
I absolutely loved your Harry Potter style Ikigai version!