We’re told not to ask for what we want, for fear that we offend the world with our requests.

But, if the world is really that delicate, then we might as well break the unspoken rules in favor of making our own. Fortune favors the bold, right?

It must have been my early thirties when I finally realized that there was only so much stock to be placed in accepting the luck of conventional wisdom of seeing things “all work out the way they are meant to be”. And while I understand that there is only so much to persuade and lobby for in our own reality, there is also something deep to be said for following ambition; tapping into a passion and driving toward our goals.

Maybe life can feel effortless for many others, but come hell or high water, I have worked for my happiness. It has required moments of contemplation, introspection, feelings at times of despair, but also with reward. And maybe that is why I am so protective of my happiness; I have invested in it. The longer I have started on the path of bringing to life a trajectory by speaking in such truths about what it is that I want to see and make happen, the more I have been able to laugh authentically, care warmly, and dive in wholly. Truly, maintaining an authentic lifestyle (which does not always carry rainbows and sunshine) has meant for me the difference between seeing the forest from the trees. I am able to walk further toward the path where I am fed more completely.

There is something about learning the ropes as you make your own path; it requires learning hard lessons that can sting, but ultimately prove to be guides toward not stumbling in the future. Failing helps to learn what to agree to and what to avoid the next time around.

I am awestruck by professionals that have carved out their own path because of a gift that they have for identifying a need and meeting it. Inventors, Artists, Musicians, Consultants; all are proprietors of a good “read”. Which is in essence, finding ways that they can add their value to a lifestyle.

I’m not done breaking rules this week. Admittedly, I try to approach most of what I write about objectively. But, this week, I would rather disclose that I have a hard time towing that line of objectivity as it applies to both The Pearl Fincher MFA and the work of Anat Ronen, who has an exhibit “Urban Legend” on display until 1/11/2020.

The Pearl Fincher MFA is a non collecting museum just North of Houston proper in Spring, Texas that I was impressed with not only because of Anat’s work, but because of a captivating photography exhibit of The Grand Canyon by Mark Burns when I found it. Already a fan of the wild landscape so beautifully on display, I was reminded of how sometimes the simple things in life can provide significant joy.

I walked into Anat’s exhibit, reminded of in the era of “the rise of the supersoaker”, “more water pressure is key”, “drench now ask questions later” -90’s but in the same breath how I was still just as happy with the dollar store water pistol as a kid. Anat’s exhibit is well more than just two murals on the walls of the Pearl Fincher Museum, and I encourage you all to go check it out before it moves on. Anat is an incredibly talented self taught artist who’s work I became familiar with in checking out some of her hyper realistic chalk pieces and murals. You can check out Anat’s site here and find out information on The Pearl Fincher Museum here , which is still showcasing the Burns exhibit as well.

The track this week is “Ten Cent Pistol” by The Black Keys from their 2010 release “Brothers”. Dan Auerbach’s riveting frontman duties for the Ohio based duo, extend well past many of his contemporaries. He is able to captivatingly howl catchy and concise choruses into the depths of our psyche’s that haunt as a reference points into times of our lives. When I saw Anat’s work, specifically with the giant water gun that would usually compactly fit in the palm of my hand, it was this song that spoke to me.

The chorus concludes with the line; “Well, she hit them with her ten cent pistol
And they’ve never been the same”. I think great art finds a way to speak to us, sometimes it makes a place of it’s own within us that we had not thought of. Maybe that will allow us to reflect on our past both individually and collectively, knowing that we have every opportunity to speak up for the world we want to create both individually and collectively.

And may we never be the same.