Motorcycling is beautiful

Went motorcycling on a beautiful evening. It was about 90 degrees out, but after 6pm it started to cool down and become very comfortable. It reminded me of why I wanted to learn to ride. I had ridden small motorbikes as a youngster and always thought it was so fun. I knew when I grew up that I wanted a motorcycle of my own and go ride.

Two years ago when I decided to finally take the plunge, I researched the bike I wanted exhaustively (way too much) and signed up for a safety course. I learned as much as I could, reading books and safety reports on the web. I got all my safety gear that covers me from head to toe in case of a crash. Just being out there on the road for hours feels amazing. There's no way to really describe the words. Bliss keeps coming to mind, a very high state of being, heightened awareness, sensory acuity, the beauty of the world comes into focus and it's wonder is clear. I don't think I ever felt that as a kid riding along the railroad tracks.

Creating a kind of life that is yours is a great thing. Being who you want to be and taking risks in life brings a sense of aliveness. Living my childhood dream of owning my own motorcycle has been worth it.

Take risks my friends.

Simple Lifestyle Design

Design can be applied in a seemingly infinite variety of forms nowadays. Lifestyle Design has been something very intriguing to me since reading The Four Hour Work Week by Tim Ferris. I've been experimenting with different forms of lifestyle design described in the book and one that I keep coming back to is simplicity in the home. Getting rid of (or letting go of) the stuff that you really don't need in your life.

The thought entered my mind last week that I would "get rid of all my books." I own under 100 books, so it didn't seem like a big deal. The weekend went by and I hadn't even touched a book. I would look at the bookshelves and think "I need to get rid of these," but nothing would happen....until....

Enter the Life Zero podcast that can be found on iTunes. I'm always looking for interesting things about people and somehow randomly came across this website last year. This tech guy shares his life and ideas about simplicity, travel, philosophy and programming on his website and podcast. I sat in bed and listened to a recent podcast (I don't think I've listened to one since last year) and he talked about downsizing his library of 1500 books down to 20.

The simplicity he used was the arbitrary number of books to pick. He picked 20 books for himself since maybe he reads 20 books a year, and if he gets a new book, one out of his 20 has to go, so he only has a collection of 20 books at one time. A-HA! There was a new way of looking at "getting rid of books." Instead of trying to eliminate, look at what you want to keep. I don't read many books, maybe a few a year. So 10 books is my number. That sounds so tiny. But I immediately went to the bookshelf to pick my 10 books to "keep." Some are one's I've always planned to read, some are one's dear to my heart, some I'd like to re-read. But finding those was a cool and fun treasure hunt, and the rest I threw in boxes ready to take to the used book store or give to friends.

An insight from the zero guy (I can't find his name anywhere) was that he used his library to impress friends and to feel comfortable about his home surroundings. His bookshelf had no "use" to himself or anyone else, other than prop up his ego. That insight allowed him to let it go because it wasn't really valuable anyway.

On another note, something I noticed in Taiwan was the simplicity people there lived in. A small apartment with very few interesting things. Very simple and uncluttered. Not everyone lived this way, but when I stayed with families stayed simple, the energy of the home was very relaxing and comfortable. It seemed the more money they made, the more simple the life. Millionaires hardly had anything in the home. It was an eye opener.

So simplicity can be a matter of perspective and it's certainly very personal to each individual. What do I really need here? What am I really using? Do I intend to used this or just feel good about buying it? A piece of wall art or sculpture may not be useful like a fork or refrigerator, but added to the home in a simple way, can create a very nice space to live in.

I find these kind of experiences fun and interesting. Tiny experiments that can keep life flowing and not stagnating.

If you have any of your own stories, feel free to comment and leave feedback!

Designing with light

A very innovative approach to interior design by simulating sunlight on walls. This guy uses led technology to create the illusion.

You can check out the complete article here. The photos of what the interior looked like before the rennovation is quite startling.

Life

Not-Planning

So, how's that plan coming along? All working out? Doing good?

After my venture to Taiwan and not planning anything for that trip. I feel that "no planning" is a good fit for me. I hate planning, I always have, it just sucks. When I plan, I generally don't do the plan, then feel frustrated about it and think I've got to go all Tony Robbins on it to make it a must, a have to, an insatiable need to get the plan going to reach the final goal and be happy and fulfilled.

"Find your desire for it to happen and it will happen," the self-improvement guru's cry. Baloney. "Visualize every last detail of what you want and it will come true," Not for me. Exception: If I desire eating pizza. Now, granted, that is a plan I can make happen. Easy. I love pizza, I want a pizza, call 'em up the phone, order it and go pick it up. Bring it home and BAM! I'm eating pizza. Did I have to sit down and plan it? Hell no.

As a gift and experiment to myself, I'm not planning anything else. Life is going to happen. Whatever shows up spontaneously in the moment is where I'm at. If someone calls up and says they have a plan -- good -- let them do the planning since I suck at it. The friends are going to all meet on Saturday for dinner? I'm there! Going to go glider flying in June, my idea. Am I going to plan it? No. Just going to tell everyone when and where and I'm done. "Do you know where your life is headed and how you're going to get there?" Been there, tried that, not for me.

But how can you live life without a plan?
How do you know where you're going to live?
How will you know where your money is coming from?
How will you create your future?


Don't know, don't care.

It's been said that in life you should discover your unique talents. I have no talent at planning, none of my plans that I've ever drawn up have come to fruition. Never have a I basked in the glory of having a plan that turned out in any way close to what I envisioned. My other friends who plan only complain about how said plan didn't go according to plan and how pissed off they are that "nothing is going according to plan!"

Try living in the now instead.

Since I've been playing with the "No-Plan Lifestyle Design" TM  I've been feeling great, having amazing experiences, doing wonderful things with wonderful people and living in the moment. It feels so natural and effortless. I feel more like I'm me being me. I've told all my friends and family that I am not going to plan anything anymore, so don't ask me if I know what I'm doing. I don't have a clue and it's awesome.

If anything I've written here isn't clear, let me state it again. I'm letting planning go. I didn't even plan to write this column on planning, it just showed up here without me doing anything. Cool.

If you would like a sink fixed, call the plumber. If you care to serve a fifty-place table setting for a wedding, call the caterer. If you want a broken leg fixed, call the doctor. If you need chairs, forks, shirts, advertising, movies, or anything in the entire world designed, I got your back. If you know a head case and need a psychologically adjusted human, I'm all about it. If you have a problem playing guitar, I can help.

If you want a plan -- don't call me -- call the planner.

There's a problem that there are too many problems.

Is it possible that there are no problems. That we as humans create problems, and then try to solve ourselves out of the mess we just made.

I keep hearing designers talking about solving problems. There's a problem with the way chairs are made. spoons just don't work quite right, there is a problem with the way communication, phones, the internet, talking with your buddies work. There is a problem with making the world work in a more harmonious way. There seem to be millions of problems people are trying to solve everyday, and when those get solved, there are millions more that show up the next day to be fixed.

What exactly is a problem? What makes it a problem? and why does this problem need to be fixed?
Better yet, here's an idea that I recently got exposed to...

There are no problems.

Wha? Come again? What do you mean there are no problems?

That's the idea.

Is it possible that there is nothing to be fixed, changed, corrected, modified, adjusted, recreated or solved? Is all of this our own making? Do we as human beings use our minds to create problems that are not really there, only for us to have something to do because we're not hunting down a wild boar dinner anymore?

If there were no challenges, nothing to fix, nothing to improve or change, would life just be boring? Maybe if we knew there were no problems, that's we create them all and just need something fun to do in life, that would better?

Oh right, I'm trying to create a problem here aren't I?