On January 2, 2025, we flew out of SeaTac but not before discovering that the airport is celebrating its 75th birthday. I asked the engineer to snap my photo in front of the sign. Why? Because I, too, am celebrating my 75th year. It seemed appropriate to mark the occasion with some community building at my local airport. I may celebrate for a year, too.
Turning 75 feels different. It feels like standing on the cusp of old. My only indication of being that old is that I remember being 7 in 1957 and skipping up the sidewalk to my friend’s house singing a song by the McGuire sisters. Oh yes, my knees remind me that I will not be running up the sidewalk any time soon. Singing I can do, running on concrete? No.
Now that we have ruled out running, let’s talk about the kind of celebrations that are gentler to the knees. What might be a great way to celebrate for a year? Bound for Hawaii, I pulled out Austin Kleon’s book, Show Your Work. He suggests artists might want to do some community building around their passions. He said not to wait until the masterpiece is complete before you share your process digitally. Now, that was a new thought. I had pretty much written my first book in isolation, but what if I invited others along on the process for the next two? Yes, you heard that right. This could be like virtual ice cream and cake by community building for a year—or 10 years!
He suggested securing a domain name and writing a blog. He said if someone wrote 1000 posts, they would have a book. Give yourself ten years. Don’t burn out. That sounded intriguing. Not generally bold enough to do math in public, I recognize that is 2 blog posts every week with two weeks off for vacation. That would carry me to 85 with no stress on the knees! What 85-year-old is still relevant and writing blogs? Hello? I’m sure there are some active souls out there contributing innovative ideas to Google searches. Please speak up. But will blogs even be a thing when I am 85? Who cares? If I am 85 and still writing blogs, I will congratulate myself. You should congratulate yourself, too.
Did I mention the author said to get a website? I have one. Thank you—with a lot of forgotten blog posts from years ago discreetly taking up space on some cloud.
As I sit in the entryway of our condo in Hawaii with the welcome sun warming my Pacific Northwest skin, it seems appropriate to write the first blog post of my 75th year. Perhaps, I will write two books in 10 years instead of one in 50!
Oh, and before closing—where will I focus? Kleon says to look at a topic and do what no one else is doing.
Over the past dozen or so years, I have led tours through the book of Revelation to release creativity. Have you ever read Revelation to integrate seamlessly the six elements of design?
Sometimes, I have journeyed as a lone traveler, but more recently, I have taken groups. We disavow eschatology and scary end times. Anybody and everybody does that. We focus on stretching our imaginations for the release of creativity.
Somewhere many years ago I read the book of Revelation fostered more creativity than any other book in the bible. I would suggest, more than any other book period since the bible is the most published book in the history of book publishing. Do you think community building can be developed around creativity and Revelation? If so, raise your hand, leave a comment, or shoot me an email. Be prepared for a frolicking, rollicking good ride! It will be a celebration! No injury to knees involved!