Considering the paucity of "comments" I get on this blog, I get a fair amount of advice that I need to cheer up. That I am expressing disdain for my current place of employment, my clients or--my calling, advertising itself.
Let me explain why I ignore these.
I am a perfectionist. I see the world and like Ahab, I curse the gods that it is not a better place. My drive, my anxieties, my goals and my passion is to create an environment where people (including myself) can excel and by excelling create work that works for the client and touches and inspires people.
That is often not possible. I should relax and make, I'm told, "tactical retreats." To that I say, "Bosh!" and "Bosh again."
As I have written in this space before, George Bernard Shaw said, “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.”
I'm told my spirit is not a long-lasting one. And the people who tell me that may be right. Even my therapist tells me to take a deep breath and "let things go."
I'm sorry. That's not how I was made.
And by the way, George Bernard Shaw lived to the age of 94.
As a long term friend and sometimes job partner I can only say that you're as far from a curmudgeon as anybody can be. You do indeed groan and grumble as often as anybody. But. As opposed to many a hipsters arrogant attitudes and dismissal of most things not fitting a certain image you are both flexible and creative beyond the obvious. You may not easily follow trends, or shall i say fads, because they are just shallow expression of what might be it in certain circles. Thus you make it harder on yourself as well. You don't take the easy route. I have never seen you giving up. However many times you get shot down you come back with yet another solution, another idea, another way of doing it. If you weren't so bloody productive you might get more of your ideas produced, ironically enough. Anyway, you will live till 95. At least.
ReplyDeletelong time friend i mean...term....hey what's a term...
ReplyDeleteMordecai Richler, to the casual observer, may have seemed like a grumpy, rail-at-the-world type person. But his friends and family will go on about his gusto and love for life. He railed not to be grumpy, but as you say in your Shaw quotation, to effect change.
ReplyDeleteI never met Richler and I have never met you George, but as a casual third-party observer and reader of both, I see a lot of similarities.
(Speaking of Richler, have you read "Barney's Version"? I suspect you might like it...)
~Graham
Mordecai Richler..now there's a dated, over rated Canadian writer. Are you from the 50's?
ReplyDeleteGeorge
Rage against the dying of the light, you've paid for it undoubtedly over the years and are no doubt too set in your ways to change. Screw it. Damn the torpedoes. Its who you are. Its got nothing to do with being a hipster (some are jokes but others are moving thru youth into adulthood and thats what they do as they find their identity)
Rage on the industry brother. DOn't hold back. This is the bitch-o-sphere after all and no one is condemened to be here, they all opt in!!!
forgive my typos my friend. Im talking on the phone as I write this. My errors.
ReplyDelete"Considering the paucity of comments I get on this blog,"
ReplyDeleteGeorge, don't judge the number of comments, judge the number of hits.
Lots of people go to see a show but no one wants to be the one picked when the performer asks for "volunteers from the audience" to come up on stage.
The suggestion box never says "keep it up".
ReplyDelete