#23: “Making It” and Make It
Make something silly and simple, and share it
(Some) TV (might not) Rot(s) Your Brain
Welcome to the Michael Jordan edition (#23) and also the Michael Jordan edition (returning after a pause to … uh … play baseball?). I hope you enjoyed the beginning of Summer, that period so well described by The Great Debates as “Long June”—Memorial Day through July 5.
As my buddy and dear meditation teacher La Sarmiento likes to say, mindfulness (and I would argue life in general) is about “forgetting and remembering”. We get lost (figuratively and literally) and we try to remember our way home with as much grace and love as possible.
Looking at the world with interest and making things both adhere to this universal law. There are times of great interest and production, and times of zero output and great distraction. All this to say, I didn’t forget to post. I did, however, forget to remember to pause and to make things unconnected to my income. (Fun stuff on the way regarding that).
Nick and Amy are Here to Remind You
Needless to say, I was very happy to see that the NBC show “Making It” is back on NBC/Peacock/Hulu/YouTube! Nick Offerman and Amy Poehler (two of my all-time idols) host a “reality” show that is a “competition” between crafters/makers. Sure, there are winners and someone “goes home” but mainly everyone laughs and cries and hugs and cheers for each other. It’s a great watch and an inspiration. (See, Gorilla Biscuits, sometimes TV doesn’t “steal my time and waste what I've learned”)
Image: Amy and Nick talk about the joys of making things and sharing with others
On Living a Silly Life
One of the other great themes of the show is silliness and joy in general. If you know me, you know that I like both of those things.
With everything that is going wrong with the world, joy and silliness can seem self-indulgent at best, and aggressively delusional at worst. I would argue, though, that joy and justice can—and should—coexist.
My mom was a nun with the rabble-rousing Immaculate Heart Sisters. Recently a documentary was released (now streaming on Discovery+) called Rebel Hearts. In one part they talked about the conscious shift they took to fuse their activism and spirituality, that “our protest ought to be celebrated in joy”. The cranky old 1960s Catholic Cardinal of L.A. was not pleased with that. I would argue that Jesus would get down with it, the free healthcare and food-giving hippie.
Long story short: mom’s no longer a nun but still a rabble-rousing octogenarian, and the Immaculate Heart crew has branched out from the church to continue their work.
So go watch “Making It” and then make something simple and silly and share it with someone, even if it’s just a sheet cake with edible googly eyes. And then do something that lets other people have that chance to be simple and silly. The world needs it, and so do you.
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