Play Your Game
I am not good at chess. I play a little and can hang in there through a game but I don’t take the game seriously. I’ve never touched a chess book as some people do. I do like to think ahead five or six moves and develop options based on possible moves from the opponent. I do the same when I fight. I plan my moves and plan my reactions to possible attacks but remaining flexible and alert to any surprises. I play chess very fast too. I don’t like to be there thinking for too long what my next move is going to be. Some people take so long to make a move a just bring my sketchbook with me and doodle while they think. People have their way of playing and I respect that.
During my stay in Kampala, Uganda we played chess from time to time. One of the guys was slightly obsessed to beat me since his first nine attempts didn’t prosper. I went to Rakai for a few days and upon my return to Kampala my friend was waiting for me at the gate with the chess board in his hands. He told me about his nightmares during those nights and how he figured out how to defeat me. Honestly, he was so much better than me at the game and also takes chess very seriously. His tenth attempt ended in his defeat yet again. At that point I had to reveal my secret: “You are defeating yourself. You are trying to play my way. Play your game not mine”. We played for the eleventh time and after two hours and twenty five minutes, and many sketches, he won.
Sometimes we get distracted from achieving our goals because we are trying to play someone else’s game. Each one of us have specific goals sustained by specific values and desires. However, sometimes we try to adapt our ways and end up losing ourselves. I’ve been asked by a few people to change my art to something more ‘commercial’ so I can sell more. People is always recommending to do things in a certain way as if one size fits all. On the other hand, some people try to do things the way I do things. Doing things the way I do things entails that you have to become me and that might not work for you. I am not a fan of either one.
We can share knowledge and we can learn from each other. These are two different processes. We share knowledge all the time. Right now as you read this I am sharing knowledge with you. We transfer or give information. Learning is about ‘making sense’ and ‘finding meaning’ of the information in ways that we can apply, analyze, evaluate, and synthesize in new ways to create new things or thoughts. Learning is not about copying, reproducing actions, or repeating what somebody else’s said. Learning is experience through applied knowledge. Use what you learn to play your game.
Detailing the muscles is very challenging but so much fun. I work one small area at a time and connect the muscles until the figure is complete. Hair comes after. To add a little something to the composition I added flowers this time. I was going in different directions with the flowers once I added the blue roses (which were originally purple) close to the head. First, and that was the original idea, I wanted to create a ‘u’ shaped frame of flowers and vines on the bottom half of the canvas. It was too much for me. The next idea was to just add a few flowers closing the figure at the bottom. I was not feeling it either, so I left it like that with just three blue roses. The rest is about cleaning up the details. After about 12 hours I was very satisfied with the result.
Finding Meaning in Our Work
“Are you having fun?” I ask this question almost everywhere I go to people who is working. Most of the time people just laugh and respond with sarcasm.
We work a lot. Sometimes too much. It seems like our agendas are based on work and fitting other activities where there is no work. That is not a bad thing. I find it an issue when work becomes more important than people around you. I also find working a lot an issue if we don’t enjoy our work or the fruit of our labor.
What does it mean to enjoy our labor? It could mean different things for each on of us. Certainly, that’s the point: finding meaning in our work. Finding meaning in what we do, and purpose to all the effort we put on everyday for so many hours makes a difference in our attitudes and aptitudes in our performance. It also alleviates the stress that comes with the job. If we enjoy what we are doing, time seems to move faster and the day goes by quickly. Sometimes we don’t even notice. The opposite is also true when we really ‘have’ to work but we don’t want to work. The day seems to drag forever.
What does it mean to enjoy the fruit of our labor? Again, we need to find our own meaning. It could be just to be able to kick back at the end of the day and be satisfied with what was accomplished. It could be being surrounded by the people you love, or having that alone time we all need. A glass of wine, a good book, a movie, food, all this things that makes us feel that it was worth. Our days are indeed few, and our lives go by like a short clip in the very long movie of existence. Why not enjoy what we do while we do it and then after?
This is what I have observed to be good: that it is appropriate for a person to eat, to drink and to find satisfaction in their toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given them—for this is their lot. Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil—this is a gift of God. They seldom reflect on the days of their life, because God keeps them occupied with gladness of heart.
Ecclesiastes 5: 18-20
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