So, it’s no surprise that Klee and I are nerds. Klee will proudly boast that she has dressed up as a wizard for the Harry Potter book release. I am a huge comic book fan and we both love every fantasy and sci-fi series that exist out there.

With the new Star Wars movie coming out, Klee and I decided to have a movie marathon and watch Star Wars episodes 1-6. Thus, I was inspired to compare myself to the Jedi, because why not.  So I recorded a video about why being an artist is like being a Jedi Master.

Here are more amazing sayings of Yoda and being a Jedi Master.

1. Hard to see, the dark side is

2. Truly wonderful the mind of a child is

3. Great warrior, hmm? Wars not make one great

4. Already know you that which you need

5. Size matters not

6. Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering

7. Mind what you have learned. Save you it can

8. Do or do not. There is no try

9. Always in motion the future is

10. Named must your fear be before banish it you can

11. You will know the good from the bad when you are calm

12. Much to learn you still have, my old Padawan. This is just the beginning!

“Empowerment” is a Food drive for Manna Food pantries. I will be doing a live painting along with some other very talented artist. The painting will be auctioned off to raise funds for MANNA.

Along with amazing live art creations by awesome artists (Mikaela Schelt and Nate Lyle), there will be art, live music and food. There will be a juried art show with the theme of Empowerment and how each unique artist perceives it.

Music starts at 2:30 and will continue until 10pm.

The last “Empowerment” show collected 680lbs of foods for families during the holidays. The goal this year is to raise 1000 lb of food.

This is an awesome show for a very good cause.

When:  Saturday at 2:00pm – 10:00pm 67°F / 49°F Clear

Where: First City Art Center – 1060 N Guillemard St, Pensacola, Florida 32501

What: “Empowerment” For MANNA food pantries

How Much: $5 + a non-perishable food item

Why: Because it’s an awesome event for a good cause

For more info joint the Facebook event page https://www.facebook.com/events/1671374866408276/

When was the last time you sang a song because you were happy? When was the last time you went puddle hopping on a rainy day? These questions might seem a little ridiculous, but if you have ever complained about feeling unhappy or old, I would look a little closer at the answer.

Age doesn’t matter, what matters is whether or not your age causes you to think that you have to approach life in a more serious way. If most of the nonsense beliefs about what it means to be an adult were true, I don’t think there would be much fun in the world.

“Everyone should make the transition from irresponsible to responsible”.

I don’t know, I think it’s all bullshit.

People who are athletes, artists, musicians and actors would have to go out and get “real” adult jobs at some point in their lives, because “Everyone should make the transition from irresponsible to responsible”.

I don’t know, I think it’s all bullshit.

“You need to work hard, do you think you’ll EVER make money with your stupid little drawings and your stupid little pictures?”

I believe we grow up with a long standing belief that as we age, we are supposed to become more curmudgeonly. We complain about the “real” world and make sure to tell our children to quit being naive and be more realistic. We even have stupid slogans and mantras, so we can make sure we don’t forget how much life really actually sucks. Things like “You’ll understand when you’re older” and “If you work hard and do your homework, you’ll be somebody.” I was actually told by one of my parents “You need to work hard, do you think you’ll EVER make money with your stupid little drawings and your stupid little pictures?”

None of this is done on purpose, just passing down the brilliant gems of bullshit through the generations.

What that meant to me was, you stick with a job even if you hate it, because someday maybe you’ll retire, and then you can do what you want to do with your life. I think the issue is that we take advice on happiness from people who don’t really get it, so they repeat what they THINK you have to do to be happy, then you repeat it with your kids. None of this is done on purpose, just passing down the brilliant gems of bullshit through the generations. On and on it goes, a bunch of people learning crap that they think will lead to happiness if only they could figure it out.

I suggest just going back to your childlike mind when things were simpler… here’s how

1. Fill out your own permission slip – Take a field trip and go explore a place that you keep meaning to go to. Go to the aquarium, a museum, or a nearby tourist attraction. If something looks interesting, take a break and go.
2. Do something fun – For absolutely NO productive reason other than to just have fun. Draw with chalk, pick flowers, play with toy soldiers in the bathtub, anything… Just have fun.
3. Explore – Walk around your block without any intention. Just see what’s going on, maybe even using a big fallen branch as a walking stick or a wizard’s staff. Just walk and see what happens.
4. Run, skip or dance if you feel like it – Flail your arms, have a dance party, sing loudly as you skip through town.
   
5. Be silly – Make funny faces, find things to laugh about, speak in weird accents and just be silly.
6. Try a new look – wear something fun and unique. Pretend you are a superhero for a day.
7. Tell it like it is – Tell everyone what you actually mean… wow, what a concept.
8. Tap into your innocence – Give someone the benefit of the doubt, as if you don’t know how to be cynical, judgmental, sarcastic or conditional yet.
9. Assume you’d be really good at something – an astronaut, an inventor, a musician, a doctor… anything. Assume it they way you did before someone told you to be “Realistic.”
10. Change your mind easily – According to Alison Gopnik, a professor of psychology at the University of California at Berkeley, kids’ brains are extremely flexible, “so they can change what they think based on new evidence very quickly and easily.”
11. Don’t take no for an answer – If there’s something you want to do, be persistent. The only way you can fail is if YOU give up.
12. Visualize a tomorrow with endless possibilities – Remember the moment where a bed and a hairbrush was a stadium full of millions of fans, watching you rock the stage. It is the formation of those powerful possibilities that cause you to feel passion towards something. You can do that with everything and you can do it now.
13. Forget what was tough about yesterday – who cares, it’s gone… young children don’t hold grudges. They could fight over a toy and ten minutes later they’re playing again. Somewhere in the process we learn to hold grudges, just let it go. Live right now in the moment.
14. Ignore something someone says if it limits you – When kids are younger, they tend not to listen to anyone tell them they can’t do something. I tried to fly, and I did for 2 seconds, despite what my grandmother said. It’s when we get older and are more concerned with being a “Good” kid that the limitations get gobbled up. Be young and remember, your life… your possibilities.

Enjoy and have fun.

They say that finding appreciation for things will bring you more happiness. So there you are, doing this life thing as best as you can, wondering if things will ever get better. You keep hearing people say “Be grateful for what you have” and you wish you could tell them to shove it up their happy little butts. I mean, if you could actually find SOMETHING to be grateful for, maybe you would be in more of a state of appreciation.

The truth is, we are always surrounded by things to be grateful for. The misconception is that it needs to be this huge profound thing, but it doesn’t… Just simple little things that often get overlooked are huge when you think about it. Here are six to get you started.

Pants

Imagine for a moment, a world where you are wearing a smelly fur diaper to cover your privates, that’s what it was like several years back. Or your junk was just out in the open flopping freely in the wind and attracting all manner of biting or stinging insects. Pants, they’re awesome, I can fall and bust my ass without having severe scrapes. Can you imagine how many times I would have to tell people “ahem, my eyes are up here.” Thank you pants!

Daylight

Imagine for a moment if there was no sun in our solar system… Oh yeah, you can’t because there would be no life on this planet. Thank you sun!

Toilets and Running Water

I know, you stop at a gas station and your bladder is ready to burst. You walk in, it is dirty and smells. “Oh, that toilet was disgusting… I had to hover.” Just be grateful that you didn’t have to dig a hole, or hover over a hole in a wooden shack that had a hefty collection of poo. People are not throwing buckets of poo out their windows and causing another black plague. Thank You Toilets! Thank You Running Water!

Internet

It used to take over a year to get information from one continent to another. Then it took a few weeks to send heartfelt telegraph messages like “John. Come soon. Stop.” You are reading this right now, on a platform that allows you to have all knowledge at your fingertips. You can communicate with several people all around the world in seconds. You can also enjoy hours upon hours of mindless fun. Thank You Internet.

Breathing

Yeah… This should be a no brainer.  THANK YOU BREATHING, YOU ROCK!

Go on an appreciate with you badass self