Marion McNealy

The Curious Frau

  • Recipes
    • Sabina Welserin Reconstructions
    • Medieval and Renaissance Reconstructions
  • Patterns
    • Pattern Drafting
    • Knitting Patterns
  • Tutorials
  • Resources
    • Extant Objects
    • Book Reviews
    • Manuscripts
    • Research
  • Diaries
  • About
You are here: Home / Blog / Life is short, use it well

Blog

Life is short, use it well

Recently I was on a train in the UK with my young son, traveling back to London from sightseeing for the day. At one of the stops, a rather eccentric looking middle-aged fellow got on, and sat down across the table from us. He appeared to be deeply engrossed with his phone, so I didn’t think he was paying attention to our conversation…. Which was oddly about how to make a yo-yo out of a water bottle. My son has an inborn need to create, and build, and not just occasionally, but EVERY day he is constantly thinking about how to do this or that, and we have very interesting conversations about how something might actually be constructed. This also causes an interesting assortment of items to be collected in his room……

What caused the man across the table to look at me in horror was the following statement:

“Not everything is worthwhile trying to make, only make worthwhile things, things of value. There is only so much time in every day, if you make something, that uses up time that you could have used for another project. Don’t waste your time making things that aren’t worthwhile. ” 

The man looked up in horrified surprise, and probably thought I was squelching my son’s curiosity and innate desire to explore… and I honestly thought he was going to start discussing this with me….

But really I am trying to teach him the lesson early on, that I’ve had to learn the hard way: Not every project is worth the time that it will take to complete.

Any project you chose, then directs where you are going to travel next in your artistic growth. The time you spend on this project, will take up time that could have been used on another project. BUT! Please do not let this entrap you into never actually settling down to do anything, rather chose a project by thinking things through:

  • Where do I want to head creatively?
  • Will this get me in that direction?
  • Do I love this project?

If any of those answers are NO, think seriously about whether you should take it on. For the NO answers, think about things that could make them into YES. Can you change the project in a way that would promote the growth, travel and enjoyment that you are seeking?

Life is short, use your hours and your days wisely, you never know how many you will actually have.

Read this article, How to Say No to Things You Want to Do, for further insight and ideas. It’s an important lesson I’ve had to learn the hard way, and I hope you learn it faster than I have.


2 Comments

Previous Post: « Thoughts and Link Fixes
Next Post: Coloring Page Tuesday »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Cherylyn says

    May 9, 2016 at 4:38 pm

    I completely understand this rationale. At the same time, I can tell you that many projects that I have started (and a number that I even finished) began as things that I loved and ended as things that I simply learned from. I think that perhaps my lesson was that is it OK to abandon a project that you began and that is no longer feeding either my creative nor my skills growth.

    Just my personal take away. 😉

    Reply
  2. Cherylyn says

    May 9, 2016 at 4:39 pm

    TL:DR – sometimes spontaneity trumps efficiency. *grin*

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • Heraldic Flag and Bearer from Augsburg, 1545
  • Advent 2020 Day 3: 16th century Embroidered Song Books
  • Advent 2020 – Day 2: 16th c Green Silk Knitted Bag
  • Advent 2020 Day 1
  • Planning a Research Vacation to Europe

Categories

  • Advent 2019
  • Advent 2020
  • Blog
  • Book Reviews
  • Diaries
  • Extant Objects
  • Extras
  • Knitting Patterns
  • Manuscripts
  • Medieval and Renaissance
  • Pattern Drafting
  • Research
  • Resources
  • Sabina Welserin Reconstructions
  • Tutorials

Recent Comments

  • Kes Robinson on Heraldic Flag and Bearer from Augsburg, 1545
  • Sophie Laing on Recreating the Gagiana Barett – Knitting Pattern For a Barrett or Flat Cap
  • ikicreations on Recreating the Gagiana Barett – Knitting Pattern For a Barrett or Flat Cap
  • Ed Williams on Recreating the Gagiana Barett – Knitting Pattern For a Barrett or Flat Cap
  • M.McNealy on Recreating the Gagiana Barett – Knitting Pattern For a Barrett or Flat Cap

Archives

  • February 2021
  • December 2020
  • December 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • December 2018
  • May 2016
  • July 2015
  • March 2014
  • September 2013
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • December 2009
  • August 2009
  • April 2009
  • 0

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Copyright © 2023 · Divine theme by Restored 316

Copyright © 2023 · Divine Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in