This past week, I sent some of my columns to a friend, he suggested I resurrect my “From the Shoe” blog and write a little each day. I am taking his advice, and putting a Lebron-Iso effort at blogging each day, and pushing myself to the laptop, to the paint, if you will.
Today was a slow day, only two kids pretty much at home. It’s freezing on the coast, which I like, so I ended up watching movies with one of the kids and messing around with the blog.
While I was playing around with different templates, I was watching “Bullitt”. The car chase scene came on and, of course, I stopped what I was doing and watched every minute of that breathtaking piece of film history. Those were some cool cars being driven through a cool city. Even Bullitt’s girlfriend’s car was cool, I don’t know if it was a Porsche or a Karman-Ghia though.
When I watch old movies or even listen to songs from when I was growing up, I get lost in those times. I remember being a kid, what it felt like, how much I liked Steve McQueen, how much I wanted my own Karman-Ghia, and I get stuck, stuck in some nostalgic funk and lose focus on the present tasks.
I get that way a lot, and I want to – not learn to focus – but stay focused, especially when it comes to writing. My friend, Scott Aughtmon, recently posted an article about the 19th century violinist, Paganini. Of course, I read it immediately since I love stories about this great artist. But Scott hit the nail on the head pertaining to not only his genius, but to his greatness, and that was his focused time and concentration to his craft. Scott relates this to business and the need to delegate responsibilities to others in order to focus on the talents and gifts that need to blossom.
I think that is part of what I need to do to bring my blog, my writing, back to life. Not only do I need to delegate some of the things I do with the kids, like transportation and chores; but, I think I need to focus on the things I want to say, not what I think the world wants to hear or even what the church wants hear. But, the thoughts and impressions that come my way. Not a full discourse of theology, not the right answers even, just the shiny fragments like the little stones Much Afraid gleaned on her journey to the High Places of the Shepherd. Thanks for reading.
Here’s the link to Scott’s LinkedIn article:
FROM THE SHOE 