Marlow's Musings 9/9/24
Insights, adventures and fun stuff from this week.
Audio narration by David Marlow
Last month I mused that we had reached peak purpose, with the overuse of the word purpose raising the risk of it becoming common and jargonish.
We had some fun exploring the idea of unlikely people writing about purpose like Stephen King. What would a King novel about purpose be like?
I decided to write my interpretation...Chisel: The Haunting of Harold
I’m keeping the thought experiment going only in a slightly different direction by asking, “What if Dr. Seuss Wrote A Story About Purpose?”
Here is Piffle's Purpose...
In a land of floo-flints and whiffle-whacks grand, lived Piffle Sublime, with hair out of hand. He toiled and he moiled, a cog in the clock, fixing gizmos and sprockets until his head popped.
"Just one more widget, one gear to align," Piffle putt muttered, eyes bleary past time. "Then home to my noodles, a nap in the hay, another dull day, ho-hum, hum-ho, hooray!"
But one eve, as sunset turned skies into jam, a voice like a feather tapped Piffle’s ka’noggin. "Ho there, young fella, with hair in a frizz, why the long face, the perpetual spizz?"
It was The Ikigai Guy, a spark in the breeze, a sprite full of giggles
and stories of trees. "You chase after trinkets, you fix and you mend, but
have you not noticed, work never ends? It's time to live your purpose, a life that transcends."
Piffle puffed a bit as he scoffed, “ In this whirring machine? My purpose is gears, not some whimsical scene!"
But The Ikigai Guy winked, "Look closer, my friend, it's all over your face, your calling whispers, time for whimsy's embrace!"
On feathered wings woven of sunlit silk, Ikigai swept Piffle up, escaping factory fumes and smoke. Away from the clanging machine, they woke to a field full of promise finally alōat.
Piffle watched, eyes wide, as a hummingbird hummed, a symphony
sweeter than anything drummed.
He picked up a paintbrush, a color so bright, and painted the meadows in sunshine's pure light. He sculpted with clay, and with wood he did carve.
In his heart, once a cog, now a hummingbird's beat, Piffle found
purpose: vibrant and sweet. He'd found his purpose, a passion to hold, not in
gears and sprockets, but stories untold.
So ditch the dull grind, the to-do list's despair. Listen, dear
reader, for this soft prayer. It whispers in windchimes, in raindrops that
drum, the joy in your fingers, the song of your thumb.
Remember, dear Piffles, and all who may roam, your purpose is
waiting to bring you back home.
Word of the Week
lagniappe (n.)
/ˈlanˌyap,lanˈyap//
something given as a bonus or extra gift
I love sprinkling in lagniappes in this musing and life in general.
In case you missed it…
This week, there were two Ikigai Thoughts for Today; the first was an exploration of risk and the connection to Ikigai.
The second was reframing challenges as brilliantly disguised opportunities.
Ikiquest+
This week's Coffee Contemplation was another real-time reflection on enjoying moments of serendipity…AND fabulous burgers covered in cheese and butter.
Ikiquest+ subscribers can listen to it in audio narration or read the transcription.
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Comment of the Week:
This week’s comment came from several readers in various forms on the Ikigai Thoughts for Today.
This message was exactly what I needed to hear today.
There are days when I’m not sure if what I write is having an impact and then I get messages and comments like that. It keeps me going.
Quote I’m Pondering
This thought is from director Werner Herzog…
"Your film is like your children. You might want a child with certain qualities, but you are never going to get the exact specification right. The film has a privilege to live its own life and develop its own character. To suppress this is dangerous. It is an approach that works the other way too: sometimes the footage has amazing qualities that you did not expect."
Having now completed my book I can relate to what Herzog is talking about here. You set out to write books with something specific in mind and yet they live their own life and develop their own character.
It is certainly true of my experience in writing The Ikigai Way. Can’t wait for you all to read it!
Interesting Thing I Saw This Week:
In the spirit of lagniappes, I came across this splendid episode of Mr Rogers’ Neighborhood where beloved artist, the late Eric Carle, shares how he created the artwork for his books. My grandchildren’s favorite of his is The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
Final Thoughts
In my final review of my upcoming book, I found several errors that needed to be corrected and edits that needed to be made.
Like my burger adventure, I decided to embrace the themes of this week of serendipity, lagniappes, and brilliantly disguised opportunities.
Though it has made for an unexpectedly busy week, I realize my book is better for the effort and am grateful for the prompt to give the final version an even stronger message of Ikigai.
Quest well.
SO many great things to comment on in this post. But I’ll whittle it down to just two.
First, your Dr. Seuss version of “purpose” NEEDS to be published!!!! Seriously!! Either that, or maybe you can begin another Substack called “If Dr. Seuss had written it…”. Every word will be cherished. And a whole new genre could be created. 🥰
Lagniappe is one of my all time favorite words. Thank you for bringing it back forward in my mind. I think I might have to write an essay about it 💞
I discoverer "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" after being an adult when I was teaching English, and I love it - as an adult- hahaha
Congratulations on finishing your book. Time flies or you worked intensively because it feels as if it was yesterday you were talking about writing it.
Looking forward to reading it!