In the immortal words of a trick-or-treating Charlie Brown...I got a rock.It wasn't just any rock, mind you; it was a kindness rock. If you are unfamiliar with the concept, people hand-paint ordinary rocks with inspirational or encouraging messages and leave them in a public place for someone to find. This particular one was shaped a bit like a heart, painted red, and included the words, "Love you." I found it on a walk, near the lakeside bench where I like to sit. I immediately recognized what it was, but completely resisted the idea that it could actually be intended for me. After all, …
You & Improved
The Fears and Aspirations of a Paint Tube
This is not a medieval torture device. But it is one of my favorite new studio tools. It has one job, and that's to squeeze all the paint from the tube. And it does it very well. After using it a few times, I can finally rest assured that from this day forth, I will get my money's worth out of every tube of paint I buy.A flattened, used-up paint tube is quite a contrast to a fresh one.There is something about brand new tubes of paint that makes artists giddy. Fresh and unspoiled, they are loaded with potential and brimming with exhilarating possibilities.On the other hand, the used-up tube …
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How to Be More Playful
I am friends with clowns.I don't mean in the proverbial sense. I mean people who paint their faces, wear red noses, and ride in Volkswagon Beetles with thirty-seven of their closest friends.I guess that's an occupational hazard when you decide to fight Adultitis for a living.I know some folks have a thing against clowns, but the ones I know – the real ones – are true Adultitis Fighters. They are compassionate souls who are all about bringing more light and empathy into the world. I can get behind a mission like that.Although our missions are in lock-step, clowns go about accomplishing it …
How to Avoid Becoming a Slave to Your To-Do List
Hello, my name is Jason, and I'm a crossoffaholic.Have you ever done something that wasn’t on your to-do list, and after you completed it, wrote it down just so you could immediately cross it off?Me too. All the time. It's not weird at all.The truth is, we experience a dopamine hit – a happy little chemical reaction – any time we accomplish something, which is the reason crossing things off our to-do list makes us feel good. (Also, I may or may not believe I won't get credit if I don't write it down.)In general, I am a fan of to-do lists. They help keep me organized. And writing things down …
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Insert the Coin
My Grandpa and uncle used to own a tavern. Once in a while, they'd close it to host family parties. I remember the dimly lit atmosphere and the ghosts of spent cigarettes that hung in the air, but my favorite feature was the row of arcade games lined up against the wall. They were blinking, bright doorways to amazing worlds and grand adventures. I don't remember ever being given any money from my parents to play them. But no matter. Each game had a preview segment, showing a minute or so of the gameplay to entice you to feed it some coins. I just delighted in going from machine to machine, …
A Lot Can Happen in a Year
My wife celebrated a birthday last weekend. This year's edition wasn't nearly as monumental as last year's, which was the day after President Trump declared the COVID-19 pandemic a national emergency.Good times.The day before that day, I had the whole family in tow for a speech I gave at a fundraiser for a children's museum in Indiana. There were all kinds of whispers about this "coronavirus thing." I was still trying to figure out if it had anything to do with that beer you drink with a lime. We were told to wash our hands more often, and a local college was rumored to temporarily close for …
Cornerstone Faith
This is a picture of Kim and me at the Cornerstone music festival, very early on in our dating years. Together with friends, we camped out with thousands of other Christian music fans in the middle of a field during a sweltering stretch of Illinois summer.Here we are showing off our "hardcore" faith represented by sun-kissed cross "tattoos" made with two Band-aids.Nine years of Catholic school provided a decent foundation for my faith, but it didn't really come alive until the year after I graduated high school, about the time this photo was taken. I was on fire for God, excited to learn all I …
COVID Math and Your Mission in Life
Ready for a fun fact about COVID-19 (you know, the virus you've been inundated with information – and misinformation – about for an entire year now that's wreaked havoc on a global scale)? It has been recently calculated that all of the virus circulating in the world right now could easily fit inside a single Coca-Cola can. Yep, British mathematician Kit Yates figured out there are around two quintillion – that's two billion billion – of the virus particles in the world at any one time. Even calculating the fact that the spherical shape and spiky proteins would leave gaps when stacked …
How to Remove Roadblocks
We are in the process of welcoming a new cohort of members to the Wonder & Whimsy Society. Each quarter, we send out a Mystery Mailing to members packed with all kinds of fun stuff. Some of the items included in January's red box were a custom-designed Tinker Journal, a set of greeting cards not yet available for sale, and an assortment of random Lego bricks.With those bricks came an important reminder Kim and I wanted to share with members, and one I want to share with you now. Just as the journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step, the building of a great castle begins with …
Time for New Shoes and Wineskins
My Grandma on my mom's side used to tell us stories about her childhood. I remember a tale about her shoes. When the soles wore out, instead of buying new shoes, her father would re-sole them with rubber from old tires. She and her sister were mortified to kneel down at the communion rail at church for fear that their classmates would be able to read Goodyear on the bottom of their shoes.(I can't help but think how much the bottoms of modern-day sneakers look like tire treads, with brand logos stamped upon them. Perhaps my grandmother and her sister were just ahead of their time?)I can …