The Lardner Report

Unleash your creative superpowers!

The Art Of Losing It — It’s A Good Thing

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Confession time. The last thing I do before I go to sleep at night, is think about what kind of treat I’m going to have in the morning. And after breakfast, it’s when can I have my next sweet morsel. I am in fact, much like Winnie the Pooh. Here’s a quote from the star of A.A. Milne beloved’s books.

“When you wake up in the morning, Pooh,” said Piglet at last, “what’s the first thing you say to yourself?”

 “What’s for breakfast?” said Pooh. “What do you say, Piglet?”

  “I say, I wonder what’s going to happen exciting today” said Piglet. 

   Pooh nodded thoughtfully, ”It’s the same thing” he said.

But every once in awhile, I am presented with a reminder that the thrill I get feeding my face, is nothing to the one I get when I feed my soul.

 Last weekend we did a video shoot for my new website. We needed some closeup shots of someone painting. That would be me. We had specific needs for the video: which brushes to stack, what colors to put on the palette.  But a funny thing happened once we were rolling. I forgot all about the shoot, and lost myself. When the shoot was over, I found myself still messing around with paint on canvas. It was a better high than the best chocolate I’ve ever inhaled. (Sorry about that, Teuscher.)

So, for the 1,765th time, I am reminded that I shouldn’t wait for a “reason” to do what I love. It’s not expensive, it’s not unhealthy, it doesn’t make you fat. My goal tonight, is to go to bed thinking about what art I can create in the morning — before breakfast.

The Secret to Finding Pure Joy: Think Like A Dog

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“Most men pursue pleasure with such breathless haste, they hurry past it.”        — Kierkegaard

It seems so simple. Finding and expressing pure joy should be one of our most natural, instinctive qualities. But sometimes we just get in the way -– completely disconnecting from our child within — losing the moments that really matter.  Maybe animals know something we don’t. I’ve always speculated that they are way more evolved than we are – after all, when they trip over something, they don’t have to look back and find something to blame for the fall.

A.A. Milne was able to capture the bliss attached to simple pleasures through the eyes of Piglet and Pooh:

 “When you wake up in the morning, Pooh,” said Piglet at last, “what’s the first thing you say to yourself?”

 “What’s for breakfast?” said Pooh. “What do you say, Piglet?”

  “I say, I wonder what’s going to happen exciting today?” said Piglet. 

   Pooh nodded thoughtfully.

  “It’s the same thing,” he said.

Now, Seattle’s most celebrated photographer/artist, Robin Layton comes on the scene with a fresh, deeply intuitive take on doggie delight. The video above  — profiling a day in the life of her adopted dog “Monkey” — was shot to remind us of the benefits of rescue pets. But for me, it is a reminder of what I might miss every day, if I don’t jump out of bed and look for the ball.