No matter how small the step
No matter what size the stride.
Love your own story
And journey with pride.
…
As is often with my mind wanderings
a few seemingly unconnected moments, or stories.
align to unearth unexpected connections.
…
On July 4th, my shoe-loving neighbour,
with her inimitable beauty,
and elegant presence,
came to collect her ‘Temptation’s.
We talked tattoo’s.
The conversation was a reminder that tattoo’s aren’t just about how they look.
They’re about what they mean.
The story they tell.
…
Maurizio Sarri had recently taken up the role of manager at Chelsea F.C.
He never made it as a player, and worked as a foreign currency trader at Banca Toscana.
Football had always held his imagination, and at the age of 40,
he left his well paid bank job
for “the only job I would do for free”, and coached local teams in Tuscany.
Sarri was strongly influenced by Arigo Sacchi.
Long before creating the great AC Milan teams of the 80’s and 90’s,
Sacchi was a shoe salesman;
“You don’t need to have been a horse, to be a jockey.”
…
Also, I’d listened to part four of Steven Pressfield’s podcast
“The War of Art”.
He spoke of the journey we’re on.
Our own journey, and that we are the hero of our own story.
The concept of the hero’s journey comes from the psychologist C.G.Jung.
And Pressfield compares it to the template for Star Wars.
I paraphrase; “The hero gets the call, rejects the call (resistance), meets the mentor,
meets fascinating characters, confronts enemies, undergoes initiation,
has allies and friends, meets spirit creatures, reaches the goal, and returns home changed.”
The resistance; whether internal or external, is felt by most of us when creating something new.
Again, I paraphrase, this time from Pressfield’s publisher Shawn Coyne;
“The more familiar we are with our story, the more we understand our story and our place
in the journey, the more comfort you can draw on when facing your challenges.”
…
Tatooine : Screenshot from YouTube
…
The story, your story, is important.
Moments in our stories inspire us.
And they can change our direction.
We wear them on our bodies.
We carry them in our minds.
And we hold them in our hearts.
…
“The secret is not to give up hope.
It’s very hard not to, because if you’re
really doing something worthwhile
I think you will be pushed to the brink
of hopelessness before you come through
the other side…
You have to find something that you love enough
to be able to take risks, jump over hurdles
and break through the brick walls
that are always going to be placed in front of you…”
: George Lucas
…
Feature image atop by Cody Black on Unsplash