IN THIS EDITION: Have you been a farmer lately? and more...
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Have you been a farmer lately?
Have you been a farmer lately? No, neither have I "lost it" nor I have taken leave of my senses. I am downright serious. So, what am I getting at?

Let me take a detour and ask you this. Have you watched a farmer do his thing, so to say? How would you describe his activities? By now, you would probably be convinced that despite my claims to the contrary I did seem unhinged a great deal. Bear with me. Even humor me. Think about what the farmer does for a living.

The farming analogy
Why have I embarked on the virtues of farming? What is the big deal about farming? I will respond to those questions by using the analogy of farming to illustrate that your life purpose is no different. It does not matter whether you are a nuclear scientist, an Antarctica explorer, a software engineer or for that matter pursuing any other of the myriads of professions and vocations existing on our earth. Whatever you are doing for a living is akin to farming. I know, I know. You think this is getting weird.

Planting the Seed
Let me begin the analogy (before you roll your eyes and take a swing at me) with the first activity that the farmer does.This is planting the seed. Basically, after determining what kind of crop or produce he or she wants to achieve and after preparing the soil, the farmer goes about planting the seed. But there is something very critical that needs to be sorted out. What kind of seeds is the farmer planting? If he wanted pumpkins, he has to ensure that he is planting pumpkin seeds. There is a cause-effect phenomenon here.

Harvesting
If the seed is planted well and deep enough and the cultivation process adhered to diligently including allowing the seed time to grow, harvesting will indeed be a successful exercise.

Life Purpose
Let us now apply this entire analogy to your life purpose.

Let me now jump over for a moment and imagine you, say, looking for a new career or launching a new business. Once you do your research work about the particular career or business itself, you then dive into that earnestly. In a way, you have also planted a seed.

Going back to the process of the planting of the seed, are you planting the seed for the plant or produce you are hoping to achieve. Very often, we want to achieve something but we are planting totally different seeds. We want to earn the highest remuneration possible and and at the same time pursue our passion. However, we end up sacrificing the latter for the former, meaning planting the seed for only the former. We do earn high salaries and benefits and a position title to go with those. However, we have sabotaged our passion. The seed is no more related to the passion aspect. We are not happy doing what we are doing. This is because the goal of highest earning superseded that of your passion.

Taking the other key farming activity we talked about - cultivating - if we had nurtured our passion and made that a priority as opposed to the highest remuneration, possibly the harvest we achieved would have been sweet. Do not get me wrong. Being successful financially is important. However, if the seed planted and the crop or produce expected are two different things, the harvesting is going to be less than optimum.

The moral of the story
So, what am I getting at, you may well ask. Well, it is this. Do not go hammer and tongs at the harvesting process without first determining what seed you would like to plant and what kind of cultivation and nurturing you are willing to put in. Often, humans are impatient beings and want to achieve instant gratification. It however does not work that way. Every seed needs to be specific for the produce or harvest expected, takes time to grow, needs to be planted well and deep and of course has to be cultivated.

Let me leave you with this thought.
Are you focusing on harvesting at the cost of appropriate planting and cultivation? Are your results the crops you expected to harvest? The answers may shock you.
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Have you awakened the artist in you?
Tom of Tom and Jerry fame
Did you ever discover the artist in you? 

The "I cannot" syndrome
"I cannot draw anything worthwhile to save my life. Drawing is a gift that a few lucky individuals are born with."
 
Could this be your thought process too? Do you really believe that only a few gifted individuals can draw anything of substance?
 
If yes, I must disillusion you a great deal. I seem to be on a disillusionment spree in this newsletter but bear with me. I will also provide that much needed dose of encouragement.  
 
Listen to what Dr. Betty Edwards author of the best selling book, Drawing on the Right side of your Brain, has to say:
"Why do we assume that a rare and special 'artistic' talent is required for drawing? We don't make that assumption about other kinds of abilities."
 
"If you can catch a baseball, thread a needle, or hold a pencil and write your name, you can learn to draw skillfully, artistically, and creatively."

Seeing is Believing
In fact, according to her, it is not the "drawing" which is the problem, it is the "seeing" which is at fault.
 
Many centuries ago, one of the greatest geniuses of all time and an artist without parallel (his singular masterpiece among many, the Mona Lisa - the Lady with the strange smile adorns the haloed walls of the museum in the Vatican as testimony), Leonardo Da Vinci, first pointed out that in drawing, seeing is more important than the actual act of drawing.
  
 
The Upside Down Method
Leonardo was so particular about the "seeing" part of a drawing or painting, he came up with a revolutionary idea (something which he regularly seemed to do), of drawing or painting something in an upside down position. It has led many decades later to the great discovery and understanding of the roles of left and right brain in the process. Dr. Betty Edwards also recommends this activity to ease into the process those who dither from drawing or are convinced they cannot draw to save themselves.
 
The Left and Right Brains
It is likely that during Leonardo's time, research into left and right brain activities had not taken place but it is again testimony to his genius that he frequently took paths that nobody had forged before or ever imagined. His sketch of a properly functioning parachute (whose principles are applicable to this day) a couple of hundred years before the Wright Brothers invented and perfected the airplane is a case in point.
 
Today the role of left and right brains in the activity of drawing, painting or any other creative pursuit is established. The principle is very simple. Drawing is a right brain activity but most times our dominant (and often tyrannical) left brain calls the shots. And because the left brain tends to be judgmental in everything as opposed to the free flow approach of the right brain, it admonishes you when you are drawing. In particular, if you are drawing something already existing, the left brain brings its entire arsenal of "can do / cannot do" judgements.
 
Dr. Betty Edwards also uses this activity in her drawing program.
 
The premise of the Upside Down drawing is clear. To silence the left brain and let the right brain take over. You do this by turning a picture or drawing upside down.
 
Have you ever tried this?
The simplest picture or drawing when turned upside down becomes a totally unrecognizable object. Aha, victory! The left brain has nothing to say for it is looking at a unfamiliar object and thus the reins of the drawing activity are rightfully (pun intended) handed over to the right brain.  
 
Actually, it boils down to whether you can see objects clearly in all their details. If you can, you should be able to draw. Then it simply becomes a matter of silencing the judgmental left brain and allow the creative right brain to take over the task.
 
5 Critical Parts of Seeing
Dr. Betty Edwards proves through her book the following 5 critical "parts of seeing"
1. Edges - seeing where one thing ends and another starts  
2. Spaces - seeing what lies beside and beyond 
3. Relationships - seeing in perspective and proportion 
4. Lights - seeing things in degree of values 
5. Shadows - seeing things in degree of values 
 
To the above she added another holistic approach: "gestalt" literally meaning sum of the parts. Here she talks about seeing the whole and its parts. 
 
So, at the end of the day, drawing is not a skill reserved for a gifted few, it is equally accessible to all. However, you need to cultivate the art of seeing, observing, noticing as opposed to just casting your eyes on something.
 
The image shown of the iconic cartoon character Tom of the Tom and Jerry notoriety is a sketch which I drew recently and after a gap of 40 years. It awakened the artist in me who I seem to have sent into an eternal slumber since my sketching days decades ago (it actually seems like centuries!).  
 
Let me leave you with this thought to consider. 
The next time you drive your car, notice what exact color or hue it is. Can you describe it in detail?  
If you can, be prepared, for you might well unearth the artist in you!    
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