MADNESS

I just finished watching the coolest movie / documentary I’ve seen in a long time. It’s called David Lynch – The Art Life.

I have no recollection of how I found it. I believe I was looking for something else and then it kind of found me.

David Keith Lynch (born January 20, 1946) is an American filmmaker, painter, musician, actor, and photographer. He is best known for acclaimed films such as Eraserhead (1977), Blue Velvet (1986) and Mulholland Drive (2001), regarded by some critics as among the best films of their respective decades,[1][2] and for his successful 1990–91 television series Twin Peaks, which led to him being labeled “the first popular Surrealist” by noted film critic Pauline Kael.

One of the (many) things that struck me was how similar some of his childhood experiences and thoughts were to mine. Memories of playing and swimming in muddy holes as a kid, feeling the California sun for the first time, curiousity about the insides of birds and issues with leaving the house. It was like hearing my own thoughts and experiences being read back to me.

Hearing all of this was a great reminder that not fitting in with the rest of the world isn’t necessarily a weakness that needs to be fixed. It may just mean that you are an artist.

My favorite part is when he talks about walking into an art studio and seeing what he calls ‘The Art Life’ for the first time.

Later, he defines it:

“The Art Life means you drink coffee, you smoke cigarettes and you paint. And that’s it… Maybe girls come into it a little bit but basically it’s the incredible happiness of working and living that life.”

It’s a fascinating look into the life of an artist. If this sounds at all interesting to you, I highly encourage you to watch it as soon as you can. It’s available for a few bucks on most streaming platforms as well as scattered around the web for free if that’s your thing.

One piece of advice you’ll hear over and over again in your life is: “Just try to fit it.” It usually starts with your parents then continues with your teachers, friends, bosses and government.

Most of the time the people who tell you to fit in want to make their lives easier – not yours. A person who fits in is a more obedient child, student, employee and citizen.

You fitting in works out great for them, but it could be very bad for you.

The crowd they want you to fit into is walking into a slaughterhouse. They walk in with dreams, ideas and ambitions. They walk out with more realistic plans like going into debt and working in a factory for the rest of their lives to pay it off.

If you want to follow the crowd that’s fine. Most people do because it’s much less risky. Going your own way might get you the life of your dreams but you also could end up frustrated and broke.

The choice is yours.

If you’re having trouble fitting in and want to take your shot:

Stop following the crowd. They are lost.

If you’re a quiet human who enjoys being at home, why don’t you work there?

You may argue that you have to leave home to earn a living. My counter argument would be to ask you “Why?” as many times as it takes for you to admit that you need the job to pay for things you want but don’t really need.

If you value a brand new car, big house, new shoes or a $1000 phone more than your peace of mind, by all means keep doing what you’re doing. Most people do.

But if you value peace of mind over material things I would suggest that today you begin to consider ways you can work from home. Next, evaluate what is necessary for your life and eliminate what is not. Your annual cost of living may drop low enough that you can pay for it by doing something you enjoy.

It will be hard work. Living a quiet life and working from home often means working longer hours for less pay. But if you’re like me, getting to live in peace makes the extra hours worth it.

I consider myself a quiet human. I prefer a quiet day at home over a loud day out. If you are a quiet human like me, one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself is to set your life up in a way that allows you to only leave home if you want to.

For the last three months I’ve been observing a family of birds come to life in my backyard.

About three months ago I noticed two lovebirds building a nest on my back patio. This was the third time I’ve seen this pair of birds or a similar looking pair of birds build a nest in the exact same place.

First, they diligently gathered tiny sticks and carried them one by one through the air to their spot. Many days they did this from 7 AM until sundown.

Next, they were spending every hour of the day sitting in the nest. I guess that meant the eggs were laid. They never sat on the eggs together – only one at a time while the other was out doing whatever birds do during the day.

Soon our worlds began to collide. At first they flew away every time I opened the door and stepped outside. This made for a few weeks of hilarious and terrifying encounters. I would walk out of the door and close it behind me and they would fly out, flapping their wings past the top of my head. Believe me all parties involved were terrified.

Over time they began to trust me. And for the last 30 or 40 days we have become friends. The only time they fly away now is if I move too quickly towards them or get too close. I’ve learned the distance that I have to keep (about six feet) and I respect it. In return they let me observe them.

One day while sitting outside playing guitar the male bird flew in. He landed on the ground about 8 feet away from me and listened to me play the guitar… for an hour.

Near the end of this experience I stood up with the guitar and walked around him to see what he would do. He followed me with his eyes as I got closer and closer until he finally hopped away a few feet letting me know I was too close. Then he continued to listen for another 10 or 15 minutes until I had other things to do.

Just a few days ago I came outside and noticed that the bird nest was on the ground. I worried that a giant, black raven had swept in and eaten everything inside the nest again. I saw this happen in front of my eyes last time and it was horrifying… and a gentle reminder that nature is not kind.

Fortunately – when I looked up to where the nest used to be I saw the mother bird sitting there with two tiny baby birds, hatched, totally exposed and looking back at me. They remained exposed like this for another two days.

Then, one morning I came outside to find that they were gone. My heart sank, and I figured they had either been scared away, eaten by Ravens or had grown old enough to fly away on their own. Either way my heart broke a little.

The following morning I was drinking coffee and heard their familiar bird songs outside my window again. I came outside and looked around and found the mother sitting in a different spot in a rain gutter attached to my room. Next to her was the father bird standing out on the open roof. They were both looking the same direction so I did too.

That’s when I saw them. The two baby birds were hiding beneath a bush directly under their parents gaze. I have no idea how they moved the two tiny, flightless birds to that location. but they did and it was genius. The babies blended into the ground and the bush so well that even the most hard-core raven would never spot them.

So I am happy to say the birds are okay.

And so am I.

SYITF

ps – If you enjoyed this post, I posted a video to my YouTube channel talking more about it.