Uncommon Things: PEN AND PAPER

A Pen. A sheet of paper.

These are common objects that you will find in any home or office anywhere in the world. A pen with blue or red or black ink. A sheet of 8 1/2 x 11 paper. A scrap of paper. The back of a receipt. A sticky note. A legal pad. It doesn't really matter what the shape or size of the paper you have on hand. These things are there when you have something you need to record or remember.

What can you do with a pen and a sheet of paper?

• You can write a grocery list.
• You can write a letter to someone you love.
• You can prepare an invoice or a memo.
• You can cast your vote in an election.

But you can do so much more with a pen and a sheet of paper.

• You can create beautiful music that delights the senses.
• You can bring the wonders of the universe to a child seeing the world for the first time.
• You can bring sparking laughter into the world.
• You can bring hope to those who despair.
• You can move nations to strive to achieve the highest ideals of mankind.

With the stroke of a pen, you can change the world.

Galileo did. Leonardo di Vinci did. Leonard Bernstein did. Thomas Jefferson did. Mark Twain did. Martin Luther King did. Maya Angelou did. Nelson Mandela did. John F. Kennedy did. Shakespeare did.

You can too.

Reach for a pen and a piece of paper. Find your voice and make your own mark on the world.

Question of the Day - August 10, 2006

Of War and the Search for Peace

When thinking about the current war between Israel and Lebanon, what aspect of the conflict concerns you the most or causes you to be very upset and angry?

Living Your Life Fiercely and Passionately

I applogize for not having posted any entries for the last few days. As it were, life has intervened and consumed my time and caused my creative juices to diminish . Please know that I am still alive and kicking. I do have a piece in the works, but it is not quite ready for posting just yet. However, I did want to share with you some marvelous ad copy I discovered as I was unpacking yet more boxes of "stuff" which I have accumulated, on the assumption I would someday find a use for it. So here is the ad copy from Mercedes Benz published in 2000. Please enjoy.

Live. A lot. Unleash yourelf upon the world and go.

Go now! And fly free in the frowning face of convention.

Giggle. No, Laugh. No. howl as if you have never grown up.

Understand that this is not a dress rehearsal. This is it.

Take it all in. Yes, every last rose and every last breath.

And by all means, whatever you do, drive a cool car.