Snow Ninja

       Snow: Beautiful. Transient. Magic. More fun, as my friend Ron used to say “than a pair of pants full of Jell-O”. I’m not sure I ever completely understood that phrase, but I use it all the time. Because, as with great song lyrics, the words don’t necessarily have to make sense. They just have to pop and sizzle. They have to evoke an image, create an atmosphere, and have some attitude.
       We had an overnight dusting of snow here in Boston a few days ago. Walking to a coffee shop early the next morning, I noticed the cars along Beacon Street that had been parked there overnight and thus acquired a light covering of fluffy snow. There were hundreds of them. After a few minutes of walking and observing, something remarkable happened. My reality changed. I started seeing my world differently. I stopped seeing hundreds of cars covered with snow. And I started seeing hundreds of blank white canvases.
       Canvases aren’t meant to stay blank for long. They beg to be written upon, painted upon, drawn upon. They beg to be transformed. I heard their calling. And I answered.
       So on this morning, a one mile stretch of road in Boston was littered with dozens of cars with the word “KISS” written in snow upon their windshields.
       At face value, this is a silly little story that could end there. But there’s actually more to it. Some of it I’ve already referenced. Some of it is between the lines. Using this story as a metaphor, I challenge you with the questions, “Why live life on the surface? Why not go deeper and get to the juicy meat of existence? Why just chew on the bone when you can suck out all the marrow?”.
       In my story, I mentioned that my whole reality changed. That I suddenly saw the world differently. And not because of anything different on the outside, but strictly because my perspective shifted. When that happened, new actions opened up. New possibilities emerged. New options were created. And all I did was stop seeing cars and start seeing canvases.
       If I can apply this to all of my life, then I can literally transform any situation, any circumstance, any reality, to a different one. To one that serves and empowers me. To one that creates new opportunities and new possibilities.
       This is much easier said than done. And for each of us, certain contexts allow for easier transformation of reality than others. Most people would never think of seeing cars as canvases and then actually write on dozens of them. But for me, that came naturally and easily.  Likewise, some people in business more readily see opportunity when others see disaster or nothing at all. We all have our natural forums where it’s easier for us to shift our perspective and thus create new possibilities. That means we can all learn so much from each other, if we are patient enough. If we are loving enough. If we care enough.
       I often see the world through the heart of an artist. “What can be created that will add beauty and feeling and connection and fun and depth, to the world?” I don’t ask that question consciously, but it’s always running around in my subconscious. That’s why I eventually see the canvases. Because through those canvases I can create something that’s in my heart. In this case, I created fun. I created humor. I created a smile on my face. And I created a good story that has so much more to it than meets the eye.
       I call that a good morning.

From The Icarus Deception:

"Art isn't pretty.

Art isn't painting.

Art isn't something you hang on the wall.

Art is what we do when we're truly alive."

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