What’s funny is that after they played I went out of the auditorium to try and find them. They were nowhere to be found and none of the Story staff knew if they had left already. Sadly, I resigned myself to the fact that they had played and gone. But then, later in the day as I walked back into the auditorium, there they were! I grabbed my phone and nervously asked for a picture. They happily obliged. David and Leslie are two of the kindest, most gentle souls around. And you wouldn’t know it from the picture, but David has a fantastic smile! Hilarious. If you haven’t heard them, please go to their site and get their new EP that came out today! Gosh, I’m such a huckster.
At the end of the first day of Story, I got to meet Anne. I brought the note, still poking out of the book, and she asked to see it when I presented the book for her to autograph. I’ll be totally honest here…I have no idea what happened in that couple minutes I was with her. I typically don’t get nervous when I meet people, but Anne set me off. I knew the line behind me was long and I didn’t want to be “that guy” who carried on a conversation with her, but I wanted her to know how much it meant to me to meet her. So, I gave her the book, showed her the email, asked for a picture, gave her my card…and probably said a bunch of stuff that only made sense in my head. It was still awesome, though.
The guy I gave my phone to took this picture by accident. I love it.
It blew me away. Many of you, like me, might be aware of Erwin as “a famous church guy.” I was familiar with his books and that he pastored a church (Mosaic), but I had no idea what the last five years of his life has been about. Essentially, he had a “crisis of faith.” It’s the classic story of doing so much for God that you lose your relationship with God. But, with Erwin it was on such a grand scale due to the influence and impact of his church. Erwin shared that he got to a point where he said, “God, if you’re out there, I need You to show-up, because I’m done.” He was hanging by a thread…and that thread was Jesus. That was all he had. As he was walking along the beach, he felt God say to him, “I want you to absorb the beauty of the Universe and make it known to the world.” With that, Erwin’s life changed. He’s now fully immersed in film-making and fashion, among other artistic endeavors. He’s finally embraced what God has for him and is living-out that call.
I spent the last two days in Chicago with about 1,000 other “creatives” at the Story conference. Story is the brainchild of Ben Arment and exists to “fuel the creative class.” Let me also say right at the top here, Ben is one of the best dudes I’ve ever met. You spend two minutes with him and feel encouraged and empowered to conquer anything. And he’s not hard on the eyes, but I digress…
Over the course of 48 hours we had the privilege of hearing from some of the most creative people on the planet. Musicians, artists, writers, filmakers, a lawyer/crazy person…their stories were all equally unique and inspiring. And challenging. In the next series of blog posts I hope to capture what I experienced and learned at Story. Hopefully you can be inspired as well, even though you didn’t get to eat a sucker served to you by a young woman dressed as a rabbit.
Creatives, am I right?
Ryan O’Neal (doing business as Sleeping At Last) opened the conference with his song January White…and I knew right then this was going to be an emotional couple of days. Ryan, in addition to having a fabulous name, has a voice that soars. A string trio and pianist (when he wasn’t tickling the ivories himself) (I hate when people say “tickling the ivories”) (sorry) rounded out his sound as he ushered us into the conference. This section from Ryan’s song “Needle and Thread” illustrates why I appreciate him so much:
“You were a million years of work,” said God and His angels with needle and thread.
They kissed your head and said, “You’re a good kid. And you make Us proud. So, just give your best and the rest will come and We’ll see you soon.”
Wow.
Then the infamous Bob Goff came to the stage and blew our faces off. If you don’t know Bob, I’m sad for you. Buy his book, Love Does, and then figure out how you can go see/meet him. Bob lives a cannonball life and he encouraged us to do the same. Grab your knees and jump into life. Make a splash. He also told us to “jump the tracks.” The idea is that if you keep doing the same thing and you end-up in a place you don’t want to be every time, you’ve got to do something different. The tracks will take you to that same place every time, so get off ’em. Out of all the things Bob said, this one struck me deepest: “I’m not as creative as you. I’m creative as me. And you’re as creative as you. Stop comparing yourself to others.” It’s so true; we (especially creatives) compare ourselves to everyone else, usually resulting in depression. “I wish I was as talented as so and so…I suck.” We need to stop that crap. As Bob said, “Lean into who you are.” Bring your voice, your talents, your experience to the world. We need you.
Still to come from day 1: Erwin and Aaron McManus, Isaac Rentz, Rachel Held Evans and Anne Lamott!
I’m really good at keeping an ice cream cone from dripping.
Its one of my favorite skills.
I’m incredibly careful, with wide licks around the entire base of the ice cream first, then I work my way up to the top making the scoop as smooth as possible on-top of the cone. It’s a very clean and enjoyable experience.
This makes me SO uncomfortable.
My kids, on the other hand…not so much.
They try, but they’re kids, ya know? They get messy. And as much as I want to grab their cone from them and “fix it,” I don’t. I let them enjoy it. I let them get messy and covered with chocolate.
In that way, eating an ice cream cone is a lot like life. It can be really messy sometimes, but also really yummy.
Yep, I just made that metaphor. And said life is yummy.
With that in mind, here’s I scoop an ice cream cone with one hand:
I was in first grade. Almost eight years old. I remember being taken to an adjacent classroom and throwing a chair after Mr. Szudy told me my uncle was dead.
Uncle Ed was my favorite. My memories of him are few because I was so young, but I remember he was my favorite. No offense to all my other uncles, of course. Uncle Ed had a great smile. He was fun. He worked at a car dealership and I have a fuzzy memory of going to visit him there and riding around in miniature versions of the bigger, real cars.
Then, on April 10th, 1985, Uncle Ed kissed his kids goodbye in the morning, got to work early and took his own life. He didn’t leave a note. It was a shock to everyone. Last year I talked to my dad about what happened that day. The wound, some 26 years later, was as fresh as the day it happened. The emotion just as sharp. The love, the longing, the confusion, the anger, the sadness.
We’ll never know exactly why he did it. And that’s really hard. But we still love him. And we always will.
Today is World Suicide Prevention Day. On average, 3,000 people take their own lives every day. Every day. And for every person that is successful, twenty more try and fail. Thank God for failures.
I’m afraid to say this, but it’s important…I’ve struggled with thoughts of ending my own life before. I try to handle things on my own; I hide things and it becomes too much. A person can only last so long that way. I’m getting better, though. My wife calls it “living in the light.” It’s hard sometimes, but it’s the only way to truly live.
When I spoke to my dad that day last year, I hoped against hope that I remembered it wrong and that my uncle did leave a note. It scared me that he didn’t. Because it reminded me of me. I can imagine he was going through some hard stuff, trying to fix it on his own, not letting anybody know about it and then it just all became too much. I know how easy it is to get to that place.
I’m grateful for those around me, my family and friends, who won’t allow me to get there. Ever. And I don’t want you (especially family that might be reading this) to think I’m there now. Far from it. But, I feel like sharing my personal experience is the honest thing to do. To let you know that there is hope.
If you are thinking about taking your own life…stop. Please. Get help. Whatever it is that’s making you feel hopeless is a lie. There is always hope. Always. If you feel like a failure, like the world or your family is better off without you, that’s a lie. We need you. We need your smile and your voice and your talent. You are necessary. If you feel like you just can’t do it anymore, I get it. But please, hang on. We’ll pull you. Drag you. Push you. Whatever it takes.
And to everyone else, please look around you. Do you sense someone is struggling? Call them. Invite them to coffee or to a movie. Let them know they’re not alone. You’ve heard the story, “I was about to…and then so-and-so called out of the blue…” Be that person. Be The Interrupter.
Will you take a step today? Please do. Make a call. Reach out. It’ll be ok.
We’re all in this together.
Ryan
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline – 1-800-273-8255
I used my teeth to open it, just like always. I open all my candybars that way (Top 5 – Take Five, Watchamacallit, Snickers, Twix, Kit Kat). In fact, pretty much anything with a wrapper is going to be unwrapped by my thumb-indexfinger-teeth combination.
I’m drooling.
As I ate that candybar, I was reminded of a video that someone (Gene?) posted on the Facebook page a long time ago. In the video, Kelley Styring examines the reality that we are indeed living in a one-handed world. All of us are. Even people with two hands are always holding something, right? A phone, a bag, a latte, a baby…it could be anything. And yet, consumer products are not created to be used with only one hand.
In the video, Kelley (who works as a Consumer Strategist for InsightFarm.com) goes to the One Arm Dove Hunt in Olney, Texas (the 41st annual just happend this last weekend!) to interview those with one hand and to see them interact with certain consumer products. There are some fantastic tips in the video, so make sure you watch it!
Personally, I don’t think much about how I use certain products, but the idea is intriguing. And empowering. I love that Kelley is looking to limb-different people for their insight and help, not necessarily how to make things easier for them. We can impact, on a global scale, how consumer products are created and packaged to make them easier for everyone to use. That’s pretty cool.
So, watch the video and then share your experiences. What are some of the hardest items for you or your child to open/use? What are some of the easiest? And this is for everybody, regardless of how many hands you have!
In less than three weeks I’m going to the Story 2012 conference in Chicago.
But, I need your help.
Story is a conference for Creatives. I’ve been following Ben Arment (the creator of Story) on Twitter for quite some time and have been impressed by his ability to create an environment for people to grow and create together.
“STORY is a two-day conference for the creative class in downtown Chicago, featuring presenters from a variety of creative fields. Our goal is not to invite speakers and artists you’ve heard of… but those you will. We strive for associational learning across disciplines, believing there’s much a filmmaker can learn from, say, an entrepreneur, and so on. Our metric for success is what you are inspired to go out and create.”
I’m confident this experience will empower me to tell my story more clearly and creatively and, in turn, enable me to encourage YOU to tell YOUR story. Everyone has a story. Yours is just as important as anyone else’s. On a personal level, I can’t wait to see my friend Bob who will be presenting and I’ll finally get to meet one of my heroes, Anne Lamott. Can’t wait to update my list!
Here’s where you come in.
The conference is $300, plus lodging and food.
Would you help send me to Story?
Here’s what I’ve come-up with in exchange for your support (I think it’s pretty fun):
First, I have a number of UNIQUE LOH items for sale. I’ll update this list as the items sell. Just email me about what you want and we’ll figure out how you want to pay for it.
Some of the loot.
(2) Men’s Large T-Shirt – $25 each, (1) Women’s Medium T-Shirt – $25 each, (2) Women’s Large T-Shirt – $25 each, Stickers – $5 each (The adult T-Shirts are different than the ones you can get on the CafePress site in that the website is printed on the back!)
Now, here’s what I’m really excited about.
I’m going to make a special video and YOU can be a part of it! If you give one of the following amounts, you’ll receive the corresponding rewards.
$10 – You’ll get an Executive Producer credit in the video!
$15 – You’ll get an Executive Producer credit AND a verbal “thank you” in the video!
$20 – You’ll get an Executive Producer credit AND a verbal “thank you” in the video AND a sticker!
Here’s one of the more popular videos, in case you haven’t seen one yet:
Sound fun? I think so.
But, there’s more!
How would YOU like to choose the video I make?? Within reason. hehe The person/group that bids the highest will get to choose a video for me to make and will get verbal credit in the video for the idea!
Bidding will start at $25. If you want to “Direct” (choose) the video, you’d email me and say, “I’ll bid $30!” and then I’ll update the bid amount in this space. I’ll keep doing that this week and bidding will end at 10pm CST on September 7th. Email your bid to me at ryan (at) livingonehanded (dot) com. Whoever wins will be notified 9/7 and we’ll workout the payment arrangement then.
For any of the merchandise or rewards (or just to donate), click the button below and give securely; please indicate what it is you’re purchasing! (Email first about the merch so I can let you know if it’s still available!)
Of course I’ll write a post (at least one) about my experience and how it’ll affect LOH.
Thank you so much for being a part of the LOH community and for supporting me.
When I was a kid my mom made me floss every night.
My step-brother and step-sister and I would sit in the bathroom, whining for what seemed like an eternity while we flossed our teeth. We’d stare out the doorway, longing for our freedom.
In reality, it was probably about five minutes.
Sorry about that, mom.
Now I actually love flossing my teeth. There’s just something about getting those chunks of meat and cilantro out after eating at Chipotle.
This is the kind I like most.
I usually use regular floss, though sometimes those floss picks come in handy (pun intended). Those floss picks can be painful, though, in my experience. Especially with your back teeth. I’ll try to get that little piece of floss between my teeth and then SNAP, it jams up into my gums. Youch! So, regular floss is still option one for me.
Like, is the word even supposed to be capitalized?
Seriously, all I know at this point comes from commercials. I am aware of the following events: biking, swimming, sitting volley-ball…I assume there is running, wheel-chair racing and possibly basketball. Maybe gymnastics? If it sounds like I’m the most ignorant and uninformed “disabled” person when it comes to the Paralympics, that’s because it’s probably true.
The other day my friend Jen (from BornJustRight) posted a link to an article and asked, “Who is your favorite Paralympic [athlete] who deserves Oscar Pistorius – Paralympic Athlete-level media attention?” “People have favorite paralympic athletes?” I thought. And then I felt absolutely horrible for thinking that.
Maybe I could cheer for Crates. “GO CRATES!” Yep.
I don’t remember ever hearing about the Paralympics when I was younger. I’ve always loved sports, but my heroes have all been of the normal variety. The professionals. It was always the NFL, MLB and NBA for me. Those were the stars. And it wasn’t as if I dis-liked differently-abled athletes; I literally didn’t know they existed!
Now here I am, turning thirty-five next month, and I’m just learning about the Paralympics. It’s daunting! I’ve started following some of them on Twitter. I’ve gone to the website and read some blogs. And while it’s still exciting to learn about, I still feel bad a lot of the time. For instance, I have no idea how one would get on a path to become a paralympian. Not a clue. I don’t know the rules that govern qualifying or how difficult it is to make it. And I feel like I should. I feel like people expect me to know that for some reason. I know that’s dumb, but that’s where my mind is at right now.
The fact of the matter is that I know hardly anything about a lot of things. For instance, one of my friends makes lasers. Literally. I don’t know anything about that and I don’t feel bad about it. I don’t have a connection to it. Except that lasers are awesome, but that’s besides the point. The point is, I feel like this is different because I have such an obvious (physical) connection to the Paralympics. Because of that, I assume everyone thinks I should know about them. But, do you know how many people have asked me directly about them? None.
So, instead of feeling bad that I don’t know very much about the Paralympics, I’m going to enjoy learning about them. I’m going to discover athletes to cheer for. I’m going to be amazed by their stories. I’m going to read the stories posted by my friends who know more than I do. I’m going to allow my perception of “athletes” to be challenged. I’m going to grow. I’m going to watch people with bodies and abilities that are different than mine accomplish amazing things. I’m going to be inspired.
And I’m going to go “Like” the Paralympics Facebook page.
Finally.
Here are some helpful links about the Paralympics:
What To Tell Your Kid When They Realize They Only Have One Hand | Living One-HandedWhat To Tell Your Kid When They Realize They Only Have One Hand - Living One-Handed
