Category: Simplicity

You will disappoint people.

Posted on by Sarah K Peck

In your life, you’ll disappoint people.

You may be wildly successful, outrageously funny, brilliant and do extraordinary things.

You also will likely disappoint someone, at some time. And the more that you attempt to do, be, and discover, the higher probability that you will not please everyone.

It’s okay to disappoint a couple of people. It’s okay to disappoint a lot of people. It’s even okay to be disappointed in yourself from time to time.

I’m not sure I know anyone that has lived a life without ever disappointing anyone. Dust yourself off, learn as much as you can, and carry on.

 

Found via The Buried Life, a “league of very ordinary gentleman asking people the question: What Do You Want To Do Before You Die?” I was fortunate to be a part of the Fall taping of an episode in which Duncan attempts to swim from Alcatraz to San Francisco without a wetsuit as one of his bucket list items. (The link takes you to an 8-minute episode on MTV, where you’ll see me teaching someone to swim Alcatraz at the end of last Fall!)

Keep Writing.

Posted on by Sarah K Peck

I’ve had a few people ask me about writing habits, what compels me to write, and how to keep the habit.

A couple of thoughts:

Don’t worry about what it looks like, or how much of it you’re doing.

Don’t worry about who’s reading it, or what they’re saying, or whether or not anyone’s reading it.

Don’t worry about whether or not it’s “the right time,” or that you’re in your pajamas at 1 AM scrawling out a couple of things.

Don’t worry if it’s 6 AM and you forgot to wash your face and you still need to brush your teeth and the coffee is cold, or warm, or not even made at all–or if you’re on your tenth cup.

Don’t worry about whether you’re writing on a bus in between trips, on a notebook without any lines on it, on a age-old laptop (mine’s called Tubby, by the way, ’cause he’s a real chunker), or whether you’re working in Pages or Word or Tumblr or WordPress.

Don’t worry if you switch topics and platforms and ideas and think that it’s all confusing other people. It doesn’t matter.

Maybe don’t make too much of a plan, other than the basic commitment to keep showing up and writing about whatever you want to write about.

Don’t worry–at least not yet, and maybe not even then–about what it adds up to, or what it will become, or even why you’re doing it.

Don’t worry about only having 20 or 30 minutes a day to write; don’t be discouraged. Keep writing, whenever and however you can. A couple thoughts a day for a month can add up before you know it. Write when you can, and thank yourself for doing it.

Don’t worry about the fact that your life doesn’t look like a “writer’s lifestyle,” or the fact that you have a job or you only have limited time each day to write. Mark Twain was an insurance salesman, if it makes you feel any better.

Don’t worry about whether or not you don’t have a bed to sleep in at the moment, or if you have a house over your head, or if the bed you do have is too short for you so you’ve got to sleep on the concrete floor in your sleeping bag for a couple of months.

Don’t worry about the people who don’t understand why you need to write, and if someone tells you that writing isn’t important or that you aren’t a good writer or that you shouldn’t spend so much time writing, by all means do it anyway, because it’s not about whether or not they think you should write, but about whether or not you think you should write.

Don’t worry about not getting enough sleep, about forgetting to wear deodorant, about feeling incompetent, about not being sure what to say.

Don’t worry if your first ten, twenty, or an entire year’s worth of posts are shit and you can’t figure out if you’ll ever be able to string together words in the way you want to.

Just keep writing. Writers write.

Remember: Just keep writing. The only way to become a writer is to write.

And all of the above, for me, has been true. And I kept writing, and so should you.

With love,

Just One

Posted on by Sarah K Peck

What would just one of something look like?

Not a diversity of items, but a simplicity of things. A specificity, a selection, and a deliberate choice between several?

Not three workout programs, but just one workout program.
Not seven yoga mats or towels, but just one.
Not eight new dresses or blouses, but just one. Your favorite one.
Not two sets of bedding, but just one.
Not four new books, but just one.
Not three bedrooms, but just one bedroom.
Not two cars, but just one car.
Instead of two sets of tablewear, just one set.
Instead of eight dreams, just one dream to work on.

Sometimes I get caught in the trap of needing more. I have a brown pair of boots, but now I need a black one. I have a black pair, but now I need a tan one. And I need a pair of rain boots. Four pairs of boots? Do I need four pairs of boots?

What would just one look like?

[Or none at all?]

We all need white space.

Posted on by Sarah K Peck

White space, in graphic design, is the space on the page that isn’t.

It’s the space on the page that’s blank, that echos the thoughts and points of the content by giving it space.

White space is that delicious break, that rest, the recapitulation of ideas by doing nothing at all.

White space gives the words meaning and play, letting light, color, balance, shadow, and emphasis dance across the page in new ways.

I love white space.

Sometimes, in my designs, my boss calls me a minimalist.

I find this funny that my writing is so abundant and my designs so crisp and precise.

White space, in our lives, is the buffer of time we give to ourselves between projects.

Unplanned weekends are white space.

Three hours between the end of work and the next task – that’s white space.

Planning only one activity – perhaps yoga- and then being open to the activities beyond – is white space.

White space is play.

It’s space to breathe.
It’s space to be.

White space gives definition to our activities by forcing us to be more selective, not to cram, and to CHOOSE.
Above all else, choose what fits on your page and what is eliminated.

Beautiful uses of white space come from copious amounts of editing, revision, and re-drawing. Words don’t always land perfectly on a page the first time. Trial and error is good.

Different days and tasks and chores require different amounts of white space.

But we all need white space. Sometimes more, sometimes less.

White space makes the other stuff matter more.

White space make your life activities better.

White space makes you better.

Make time and space for what matters.

Posted on by Sarah K Peck

Make time and space for the things that are the most important to you.

If you don’t know what those are, make time and space for the finding out what things are most important to you.

Making time and space for what matters means you need to know what matters to you.

So: what matters to you?

What are the 10 most important things in your life?

A harder question: what’s the one most important thing to you in your life?

We all have long life lists and goals and aspirations. Change that around a bit. If you could only do ONE thing in your life, what would it be? Why?

And, if you could only achieve one thing today, what would it be?

Are you working on it?
Why not?