We are now faced with the fact, my friends, that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history, there is such a thing as being too late. Procrastination is still the thief of time. Life often leaves us standing bare, naked, and dejected with a lost opportunity. The tide in the affairs of men does not remain at flood — it ebbs. We may cry out desperately for time to pause in her passage, but time is adamant to every plea and rushes on. Over the bleached bones and jumbled residues of numerous civilizations are written the pathetic words, ‘Too late.’ – MLK jr.
Brilliant reminders about ‘doing’ rather than ‘thinking of doing’ have been popping up all over for me in the past 48 hours…several over the weekend, the above from Seth’s blog. I’m taking it as a sign to spread the word. If you were thinking of putting off that portrait to tomorrow, rather than today, or thinking of not picking up the phone and calling that client, skipping that research for your next short film, or whatever it might be… perhaps you should re-consider and do it today. I sure am.
Thank you Dr. King. Today in your honor….
Chase: your post is right on, and just yesterday, took preserve a bit of my own family history before it slips away from us even more. StoryCorps (storycorps.org) is currently in Birmingham, AL, where I live, and I managed to snag a coveted slot to interview my dad about his childhood. I surprised him, flew him into town, and did the “interview” yesterday to record his story.
He was born in December 1942 in Lyon, France to Jewish parents who had fled Vienna, Austria to France before the Nazi occupation. In 1949, his family immigrated through Ellis Island to the U.S. At the time, they literally had nothing, and they hardly spoke a word of English. After being a Boy Scout, a first-generation college graduate, and serving in the U.S. Navy, he has maintained a successful periodontal practice in North Florida for over 40 years. Truly, he embodies the American Dream. His parents are both deceased, and I wanted to make sure I seized on the chance to record just a bit of his story.
The StoryCorps mobile soundbooth is parked adjacent to the entrance of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute and across the street from the 16th Street Baptist Church, where four girls were killed in a 1963 Sunday bombing that killed four young girls during the Civil Rights era.
Inspired by the thought of my dad’s own personal story and the setting in which we were recording it, she posted this video on her own photography blog: http://www.katherineberdy.com/blog. I hope you’ll take a minute to watch it.
you’ve given me something to think about….again
Yes! I’m going to make a photo book that I’ve been thinking about (procrastinating bout) doing for some time. I’ll sell it as a PDF download and donate the $ to charity. I’ll have it up on my website starting in February, maybe sooner. Just started working on it!
“Life often leaves us standing bare, naked, and dejected with a lost opportunity.” So true and an all too frequent experience. The other side of that coin is reveling in “Island Time” , the piece and carity that often comes from total abandonment of the need to produce. I believe defining time for each is imparative. It is the shifting of gears between the two that is the trick for me. I grind a lot of gears.
I should be working right now. Instead, I’m reading this. Oh, the irony 🙂