back-to-ones

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I’ve wanted to get a bicycle for some time now. Not only for the exercise (which I need), but mainly so that I could ride with my son. We have a lot of Greenways and bicycle trails around my town and he’s just getting excited about his own bike. I figured it would be a great way to spend quality time with him while being outside and away from the distractions of everyday life.

Based on a friend’s recommendation I went to Oak City Cycling Project in downtown Raleigh. They were great folks and took the time with me to select the right bike for my needs. I finally selected one and after a test ride, instantly fell in love. I purchased a single speed All-City Nature Boy with Disc brakes. She is gorgeous and rides like a dream. I couldn’t be happier.

When I brought it home, my son was just as thrilled and excited as I was; We went on a bike ride almost immediately. We talked, laughed and explored for hours. I’d say this was a great investment.

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I was scanning through some of my archived posts from Knife & Wood and stumbled upon this gem. I fell in love with the image all over again. 

Download Fliqlo if your interested in an updated version for El Capitan.

I absolutely love this screen saver and especially this photo of it in use. 

Photo By Peter Hellberg found in the Unclutter flickr pool

For those interested, you can download that screen saver here: FlipClock 0.5 (Macbook fix, Snow Leopard)

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“We lose our enthusiasm and then we go looking for it in all the wrong places. We think we need more of everything to find it again, when in fact we need less.”

I really enjoyed reading the post 7 Little Ways to Make Life Simpler by Marc Chernoff this evening. It touched on many of the ideas I am incorporating into my life. I really liked his continued emphasis on adopting a “gradual” approach when exploring these steps. The above quote is from step seven and as soon as I read it, I knew he was speaking to me.

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Credits

Over the past few months I have been aggressively paying down my credit card. Today I received an interesting email from my bank. Below is an excerpt:

Congratulations! Your excellent credit history has earned you a credit limit increase. Your new credit limit gives you more buying power — right now — for gas, groceries and the things you buy most.

Enjoy your increase. You deserve it.

I deserve it? The wording in this email is part of the problem with our culture. They are giving me permission, justification and encouragement to spend money I don't have.

Before I began this journey I might have overlooked this type of advertisement, hell I might have taken their advice, but now it's like a slap in the face. Don't fall for the trap.

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The other day I saw this photo on Patrick Rhone’s Instagram feed. What a fantastic idea and one that I will be adopting for my eldest son.

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We love our evening walks; So much wildlife to see.

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Why? Good question. I throughly enjoyed the questions raised by Madeleine Sumerville.

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Every poet has trembled on the verge of science.

Henry David Thoreau in Journals 1837-1861 (via patrickrhone)

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The Burden of Too Much: Simplifying Childhood

On Monday I read an article by Tracy Gillett entitled “Simplifying Childhood May Protect Against Mental Health Issues”. It was a fantastic article and if you are a parent, I highly recommend you giving it a read.

It touches on a topic that I have been struggling with over the past few months. Earlier that day, before I read Gillett’s piece, I was chatting with my friend Sarah about how I feel my son is becoming desensitized to his toys and special outings. He doesn’t seem to appreciate them like I wish he would and while he loves the idea of things, the actual event or item never seems to live up to his desire. It’s something I think all of us struggle with but as a child I don’t want him to become numb to it all.

His toys are becoming a problem. As I pair down my own belongings to those things that bring me happiness and use, I see an overwhelming amount of toys and stuff that no longer gets played with and results in mass clutter. At times you can’t even see the toy room floor and then it trickles out into the rest of the house. He was the only grandchild for four of the past seven years and needless to say he’s been spoiled.

Luckily for us he is still the most loving and caring person I know. Seriously. This child has the heart of an angel and each day I look to him for inspiration. That said, I feel he doesn’t appreciate all of his toys simply due to the sheer amount of them. After reading Gillett’s piece and a few other articles I’ve developed a plan for this weekend.

We will be going through his toys and I will allow him to select say 25 of his favorite things. We’ll move them to another room and they are saved. The remaining toys will then be divided into piles of save (for my two year old son), donate, trash or sell. I’ll report back on how this experiment goes.

To touch on the “special outings” part of this issue, recently we drove to Greensboro, NC (about 90 minutes from Raleigh) to visit the Greensboro Science Museum for the afternoon. It’s a wonderful campus that combines it’s science museum with an aquarium and an outdoor micro zoo. The perfect place to spend the day with two children, or so I thought. My son loved the facility during the beginning of our visit but towards the end of our stay he looked to me and said, “Daddy, I’m bored”. Bored?!? Tired sure, but bored? It was like a gut shot. We drove for 90 minutes, spent $40 and after only a few hours he’s thrown in the towel.

That’s just one recent example, but there are numerous times this has happened over the last year. I am beginning to realize he does’t have a good appreciation for these special times. I’m also realizing it’s my fault.

I have to travel now with my job and when opportunities arise to go places or do something special, we take them. We want to give our children experiences and opportunities that we didn’t have growing up , but I’m beginning to realize that we are not allowing these special moments to be special. The sheer volume of “special” things we do for our children has probably jaded him into thinking this is the norm instead of the exception. We may go to the museum one weekend, then the next week birthday parties and the park, then movies the following week and then the beach the next. Maybe instead of always occupying our time with going places and doing things, we just need to be still.

We need to simplify his life by removing the go go go and to just be still in the moment. We don’t need to go anywhere to have memorable and special times. We need to play outside, read books, go on a walks or play board games. It’s in these moments that he finds the most happiness anyways and frankly so do I. Save the trips to maybe once or twice a year not once a month. Maybe allowing him to be bored will spark the creativity that I know lies just beneath the surface. Maybe it will allow him the freedom to just be.

This is a work in progress and here on Back to Ones I think you’ll see me experiment, provide issues and solutions all within the same post. It’s a way to talk it out and if you have ideas or suggestions please feel free to reach out. I encourage it, because ultimately we’re all in this together.

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Back to Ones

Having been in the film and television industry for nearly fifeteen years, the term "Back to Ones" is a familar phrase heard on set. Simply put, it means we're going to reshoot the scene. Something wasn't right and we have a chance to do it again; A retake. A do over. Think about that for a moment.

Now apply that to your life.

I've been mulling this blog concept over and over again in my head, not knowing where to start. It's always more exciting once you've passed the ackward stage of starting something new and can get to the real meat of things. It wasn't until recently when I read an article by Mike Vardy on Lifehack entitled "How to Reboot Yourself" that it all came together.

The opening line is "Alright everybody…back to ones". It was as if a light turned on and sirens went off. "Back to Ones" of course! He used the analogy of the film term as the launching point of his article on rebooting oneself. A retake. A do over. A chance to begin again.

That's what Back to Ones is about; It's the journey that I am undertaking by hitting reset. It's loosing the noise and focusing on what brings me joy. Clearing the clutter that is both physical and mental. It's honing in on what makes me truly happy.

I hope you will find something here that you can take with you on your own journey.