So a couple months ago, Mark Lee (from Third Day - who played two nights ago on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno) made a great blog post entitled “There isn’t a statue of a critic.” Here’s some of what he said:

“Look for the good in the world and talk about that. Be an encourager. Take risks. … Try to make the world a better place. … Avoid being a critic at all costs. It’s no fun, and it brings people down. I’m going to say it one more time: find the good and praise it. If it’s not there, make your own.”

 That’s great advice! I also love the well-known lines from Theodore Roosevelt on the subject:

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

For some reason, I’m often drawn to point out the exception, to play the devil’s advocate. I don’t care to be argumentative, and I actually don’t often look to start or join a debate. Maybe it’s just that I think bringing in another view is just part of the process of seeking out truth. Or maybe it’s the exception that proves the rule! ) Often, it’s not as much a matter of one thing being wrong and another right as finding an additional consideration.

This said, let me point out the one place where a critic adds value. If you are the “doer of deeds,” you must view your own work with a critical eye… at least at some stage in the creative process. This could extend to those near you as well. What about with friends of yours that are also producing art of some kind? All of us are probably pretty fragile in some ways – though perhaps we’d rather not be (and I think it’s good for us all to have at least one friend who think everything we do is great). However, it may be helpful to have some friends who are willing to chime in with other thoughts as well.

Do you think there is a place for critique among friends? If you’re specifically asked to give input on a work in progress, that seems like a pretty clear opening, but even these times should be treated carefully. Where and when and how do you think critique can be a good thing? Any suggestions on how to do this best?

Oh, and Mark… when I was looking on SXC.hu for a picture to use with this post, I couldn’t even find a *photo* of a critic… )

-= another Watercooler Wednesday post =-

For those of you that wondered if I died, I didn’t. I’ve been busier than usual (which is saying something), and I’ve also been doing more fun activities than normal (which I often pass up because of previously mentioned busy-ness). )

Here’s a small selection of what I’ve been up to lately.

Flying in a new friend’s small airplane:

Another friend’s 50th birthday party:

Racing somewhat high-speed go carts:

Shopping for and purchasing an electric guitar (not this one):

Riding the Seattle Ducks (amphibious city tour):

Getting very foreign currency as change at McDonalds:

Rollerblading with my favorite middle sister:

And… riding to the top of the Seattle Space Needle for dinner and pictures

I love having a camera phone (for the first time in quite a while), but I’ll bet you can tell the difference between the pics I got with that and the ones I got with my DSLR… )

What have you been doing lately? ) Oh, and does anybody recognize what country that coin is from? I’m curious.

I have to agree, and it seems that this truth applies equally to almost any creative pursuit. We should be careful to guard against motives that distract us and keep our hearts from enjoying the process of creation. If we start to work from other motivations, we can short-circuit our creative mind. Enjoyment in the process helps improve the outcome, helps intensify our creative abilities. Of course, there are later parts of the creative process that require discipline as well, but if we do not allow ourselves to play for the enjoyment of the creation, we could limit ourselves and stifle our work.

Come to think of it, keeping an attitude of play is important for many areas of life, or perhaps all of them. )

What are some of the creative pursuits you enjoy? Are you able to keep a playful focus for your initial efforts? Any tips for the rest of us on how that works best for you? Also, if you’d like to check out some other great posts on arts and culture, head on over to Watercooler Wednesdays on Randy Elrod’s blog.

If you have an interest in writing, particularly if you require any elements of story in your work, you’re likely to enjoy and benefit from this book. Though targeted at screenwriters, Story does a great job of explaining and illustrating how good story works and what doesn’t work. You can take it as a given that the author knows this subject; he spent decades teaching screenwriting and his students include many who met with great success in that field.

One part of the first chapter that I enjoyed was where Robert discusses some of the loves that a writer of story must possess. Here are a few that he touches on: the love of… story, the dramatic, truth, humanity, dreaming, humor, language, duality, perfection, beauty… Don’t worry though, Robert does much more than talk about story; he also gets down into the nuts and bolts and offers plenty of practical information.

Have any favorite books lately? Also, if you’ve read Story, did you find it helpful?

There’s a part of me that wants life to be everything that it can be. That wants to live a no-holds-barred, petal-to-the-metal, extreme, radical existence.

And there is this other part of me that wants life to be easy.

Of course, no matter how I live, there will be plenty of times that life isn’t easy. However, I think it’s likely that there will be more resistance, difficulty, tears, and pain when taking that road less traveled, the upper path of a radical existence. Even if that wasn’t the case, it’s hard to deny that such a life requires more from us than going with the flow and simply taking what comes along.

And this isn’t to say that every moment will be action-packed. If you look at the lives of many of the greatest men and women who ever lived, you will see that much of their time was spent doing many normal things. Obviously, you don’t receive a get-out-of-the-mundane-free card just for deciding to live your life passionately. You’ll still have plenty of time to wash the laundry and take out the trash.

However, with the choice to lean forward and go for the gusto, I think we’ll start to have more of those incredible moments. We might even find that we start enjoying even the mundane times a little more.

Why not find what things you were really made for, the things that thrill you (if you don’t already know)? Get tuned into that – so that you have this on your mind and in your heart – even when you’re doing laundry. Don’t avoid the things you dread; run through them, past them, into the things you were made for.

If you could do anything, what would it be? What’s keeping you from that?

Thought I’d try to start a conversation about heroes today.

Do you have any heroes? People who you look up to who have done something great to impact the lives of many or to impact the lives of those closest to them?

Rich Mullins has been a hero and role model of mine, and I’m really glad that he chased after what he was made for. He lived a passionate life of sacrifice and service, doing the things with excellence that had been placed in his heart by God. Like his Creator, Rich also created beauty and spoke life-giving words.

What do you think the world would be like if your hero had never lived or had left their work undone? I know that without Rich, we’d be missing a lot of really great writing and music, and I think there are quite a few people who would have gone without a pretty special friend as well.

How ’bout you… Do you have an idea of what you were made to do or how the world will be different if you don’t follow through?

I believe that there is a purpose God intended for every part of His creation, and that if we don’t fulfill our purpose, other people lose out. On the other hand, if we live life with passion and go after the purposes that God made us for, imagine how the world will be different once we’re done!

Here’s another post that’s part of Randy Elrod’s Watercooler Wednesdays.

I recently ran across a list of famous last words on Wikiquote. Check ‘em out here.

I don’t want to seem morbid, but I think it’s interesting to see what people choose (or sometimes just happen) to have as their last words spoken on earth. Some of the quotes are funny, some are sobering, some might even make you to think a bit.

Here are a couple that stood out to me as funny or inspirational (taken from the link above):

• “Am I dying, or is this my birthday?” – Lady Nancy Astor
• “I would rather be a servant in the House of the Lord than to sit in the seats of the mighty.” – Alben W. Barkley, former Vice President of the United States
• “I should never have switched from Scotch to Martinis.” – Humphrey Bogart
• “I just wish I had time for one more bowl of chili.” – Kit Carson, American frontiersman
• “Thank God. I’m tired of being the funniest person in the room.” – Del Close, improviser, teacher and comedian
• “But how the devil do you think this could harm me?” – Denis Diderot, French encyclopedist, upon being warned by his wife not to eat too much
• “It’s very beautiful over there.” – Thomas Edison
• “I shall be with Christ, and that is enough.” – Michael Faraday
• “I’d hate to die twice. It’s so boring.” – Richard Feynman
• “Dying is easy, comedy is hard.” – George Bernard Shaw
• “It must have been the coffee.” – Jack Soo, Actor and Comic
• “Jesus, I love you. Jesus, I love you.” – Mother Teresa

Check out the longer list if you get a chance… Have any favorites? Which ones? What do you like about them? ) Any hopes about what your last words might be?

This past week, I was thinking a little about the lyrics of “Mr. Jones,” a song that was pretty popular back when I was in high school. I think one reason it resonated with so many people is because it talks about our desires in a way that we can relate to.

Here are a few of the lines:
…
We all want something beautiful
I wish I was beautiful
…
Help me believe in anything
I want to be someone who believes
…
When everybody loves you, you can never be lonely
…

The truth is that there are a lot of things that we could be tempted to think might help make us happy but we often find that they can’t do that after all. I think Adam Duritz might be hinting at this with his line, “When everybody loves you, you can never be lonely.” By making such a direct statement, he helps us to really think about it and it’s clear that popularity isn’t a cure at all for loneliness.

In my own experience, when I’m in close relationship with God, I find that I’m both better able to enjoy other things in life and at the same time also feel less dependent on those other things (or other people) in order to be happy. Surprisingly (or not), another thing that can contribute to our own happiness is living a life that is centered around serving others. You could almost think that focusing on self could give you a better chance of making yourself happy. However, experience shows us that focusing on self is more likely to lead to depression than anything else!

What are the things that you are looking for in life? Is it possible that you’re leaning too heavily on the hope of them bringing you happiness? Do you have any tips for finding true happiness?

Hi, friends! I thought I’d join the “Watercooler Wednesdays” going on at Randy Elrod’s blog. It’s pretty much a way to connect blog communities together, and everyone who’s participating just posts something on Wednesday about Arts and/or Culture.

For my post today, I thought I’d just pass on a discovery I made this evening of a really inspiring songwriter/singer (yeah, I know it usually goes the other way around, but not in this case). Don’t get me wrong, Laura has a great voice too, but she started as a songwriter…

Check out Laura Story’s bio and music on her MySpace page (http://www.myspace.com/laurastory), or on her website (http://www.laurastorymusic.com/).

Had you heard of Laura Story before? What do you think of her story? How about her music?