The Way We Look At Things...

Today I was staring down my miter joints as I inlayed the purfling in one of my classical guitars. It's a very exhausting thing - applying the binding and purfling to a guitar. Of course, it would be a lot easier if I didn't care about the outcome. It was about 3pm, and like lots of people in my time zone, I was beginning to lose concentration. Its not something you need to do when you are working with sharp tools and small joints, so I took a little break. It was going to be just a few moments, but I sat down on a couch and 30 minutes later, after dreaming about something that belonged in a Salvador Dali exhibit, I awoke very much refreshed. So refreshed that I continued into the kitchen and raided my off brand box of Cinnamin Toast Crunch.

It felt very much like morning and it made me wonder why I we all didn't take a nap like this as a daily custom. Of course, most of you reading this with the 9 to 5 schedule are thinking, "Get a real job dude", but it does make me wonder why we culturally operate on our 8 hour work day schedule. My roomate, the most intelligent Ross Edward Bagwell pondered the thought with me and theorized that perhaps this was due to a time when artificial light was unavailable, when there was lots to do (as usual)  and everything had to be done before the sun disappeared and took the light with it. 

For me it is just another indicator of one of the many things that we do every day and don't question, or at least don't do much to change it. Why not? Computer programmers generally get their day started at about 9pm and go to bed when many of the industrial and agricultural workers are brewing their morning coffee. Most of you who have had the night shift will likely curse me for suggesting that everyone simply flip their shift but I am not suggest that. It would just be nice to know why we do the things we do - What among these things are habita and which are choices?

I am fortunate to have a job that demands quite a bit of creativity and innovation - something that a lot of jobs need more of - and there is nothing that fuels creativity more than questioning our daily habits, routines, preferences and grievances.

Creativity never opperates on autopilot - it can only arise from the recognition and complete exceptance of each precious moment we have.