Archive for February, 2010

Not to do what one loves “is an insult to the universe.” So says Matt Hammond of the UK who worked very hard, against the advice of skeptical family, friends, and traditional wisdom, to earn a living with his guitar.  I found  Matt and his story while surfing the internet, trying to locate like mindeds who have created their leap into new work and are willing to talk about it. Visit: www.jamplay.com/instructors/matt-hammond.html

Matt’s phrase really stuck with me.  From one perspective I agree; we insult ourselves, our God-given talents, and even our universal destiny not to use them.  I found myself thinking, “What a powerful thought! Why didn’t I come up with that?”   But what surfaced ultimately was another perspective, more like the one I actually hold, “When we manage to open a door from the inside, our true purpose can begin to enter our awareness.  Until then, we are all doing the best we can in life, and the universe doesn’t take our flounderings personally.” Detours, deadends, meandering paths are a necessary part of the journey.  At least that’s the wisdom of hindsight.

I’m clearly still in the stage of being surprised and delighted and it has nothing to do with the fact that I’ve “sold” 3 books. Three days after receiving my inventory of books, I orchestrated a spontaneous small and rare neighborhood celebration with champagne.  My neighbors had no idea I had written a book, yet I gave them each one and we shared a friendly two hours catching up on our activities.

My 80 year old neighbor Dennis called me the next morning.  He said:  Martha I got into your book, at which frankly  I expected to just glance. An hour and a half later, I’m still glued to it.  It really caused me to think about my life and how lucky I am to have lived as a mechanical engineer as a career and as a carpenter and wood carver in retirement.  I’ve always done what I loved and I’ve met so many who were bored and didn’t know what to do with themselves.

Okay I admit it.   Read the rest of this entry »