Thursday, September 29, 2011
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Twenty years after Miles Davis left
Twenty years ago today jazz great Miles Davis died. To put it simply he was a legendary giant of musical innovation who took music forward, created new ideas in jazz and broke the rules. However, Miles Davis broke the rules only because he knew what the rules were, he knew, studied and mastered the foundations of music and music theory and to say he was talented would be an understatement of criminal proportions.
What we take from Miles Davis, his music, his vision and his journey is for the individual to decide. But his drive, ingenuity and foresight is an inspiration that anyone can embrace.
And in honor of Miles Davis, his life and his journey we here at Rootnetwork say:
Try your absolute hardest at something you have always wanted
Tell someone what you really think
Accept the challenge of what may be the hardest thing you will ever do
Attempt something new
Talk to someone that doesn't think or believe the same as you
Go somewhere new
Walk away when you know it's wrong
Stand your ground when you know it's right
When you're down, pick yourself up
If you need help...ask
Step back and laugh at yourself
Find a way to make yourself proud
Do something embarrassing
Love because you're actually in love and not because you are lonely
Allow yourself to be inspired by something different
Be better today than you were yesterday
MILES DAVIS (May 26, 1926 – September 28, 1991)
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Monday, September 26, 2011
Daniel Burnham - Make No Little Plans
Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men's blood and probably themselves will not be realized. Make big plans; aim high in hope and work, remembering that a noble, logical diagram once recorded will never die, but long after we are gone will be a living thing, asserting itself with ever-growing insistency. Remember that our sons and grandsons are going to do things that would stagger us. Let your watchword be order and your beacon beauty. Think big.
Daniel Burnham
Architect (1846-1912)
Ramblings on life
Now I may be rambling here but it's an obvious statement that we all live our own lives...so the question is why do people care how one chooses to live?
I was witness today to a conversation regarding this topic...a "response" shall we say from one who lived their life along the lines of the societal norm to one who strayed a bit from the beaten path.
I'm not talking about criminals and malcontents but rather those that live their life on their own terms. There is no real definition but we all know the type...the one who is here one day and gone on some adventure the next...maybe they work 4 or 5 jobs at a time so they can then not work later...or maybe it's the guy with a motorcycle shop or a musician just making it or the surfer who chases the waves.
We are surrounded by people who make a choice to live their life on their terms.
My point is the reaction they tend to receive...the recommendations that they look to "secure" their future...or that they "take life serious"...the admonitions that one day they will need to "grow up"...or do something productive. But is this REALLY advice in their best interests or is it a response to the freedom they live with.
We've all been doing something we didn't want to be doing and saw someone who looked as if they were enjoying themselves... and wished we were them. There is an almost instinctual jealousy of those who eschew the risks involved in a life lived without security and make their own paths.
Not everyone is meant for that way of life just as not everyone is meant to be an investment banker, accountant, lawyer etc.
This life lived is, to me, one that should be celebrated. We should celebrate the rebel and the outlaw, the dreamer and philosopher. If we all fell into lockstep how many works of art or scholarly thought would we have missed? Not to mention the countless rights we have gained because someone went against the grain. If those on the "outside" listened to advice and remonstrations of society we would be a world less many wonderful things. The artist who creates, without accolades, may nonetheless be creating beauty that inspires, the writer who is scrambling to finish his work may give us the next great awe inspiring novel, the dreamer who ponders may be the next great philosopher to give us a better understanding of the world we live in...no promises in all of these endeavors...just potential...so why curtail that?
In one way or another some of the best things we have in life are the products of someone going against the grain in their own way...live your life and find your own way.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Forward
Be willing to give, to sacrifice, to dedicate all that you are to your goal. Don’t fear obstacles you may encounter or the setbacks you will face, rather use them and learn from them, turn them into stepping stones towards your destination. Your true measure isn’t merely the accomplishment, it’s how you approached the challenge, what you gave to the endeavor. You will fail at something, you will falter at some point, understand that. These are the consequences of any effort, accept and embrace it. The question isn’t whether or not you will fall, because you will. The question is what you do afterwards.