As usual such deep thinking. I get so much out of hearing what's on your mind! Today's topic is one of those bird's eye view topics, to me, you prompt us to look not at just what's in front of us but to look at the past, present and future in a way that makes it all as appreciated and useful as possible. Finding value to apply to today and make the future better for ourselves, our family, our community, our work. You start with the expression, "Distance creates beauty". Yes, wise, true. I've heard the sentiment before and it's good to think about. Reminds me of "Absence makes the heart grow fonder" and more bluntly, "You don't know what you've got til it's gone".... At one point you said everything is precious. I loved that. And when you were being a little hard on yourself for not appreciating your heritage after years in the US I thought of that experience kind of like the experience of writing a script or a novel. The process of it. Living is a process. We need to feel absence, feel renewed connections in order to express them in our writing and films. I also wonder if I should be intentional to minimize the possibility of forgetting. Perhaps have a quarterly review scheduled in about some era of my life. Or some event in my life. High school. The classes, teachers, trials, stresses, fun, what my parents were like, etc...I don't know, periodically looking at my history so I never get too far from it. We know how the busyness of life can sweep us along and when we look up 7 years ahave gone by in a blur. Fighting that is something I took from your video. There was a bookcase in one of the shots, it looked like it was in a bedroom, the shape of the bookcase was that of a giant honey comb? It was so cool. Also, as I sat watching your video the idea of a day of Sabbath came to mind. Having a day, or if not possible a half day a week to stop moving forward and to reflect. OR do something that connects us to the things that sustain us. Maybe its taking a morning to cook a traditional meal of our heritage. Or taking the time to read a Bai story, or for some reading from the Bible. It made me think of the idea of a sabbath, something where you wouldn't have to wait for a trip to China to reset yourself but perhaps on Sundays have friends over for a meal common in your hometown. You're video is making me sit down now and firm up my own version of a Sabbath. Thank you for that insight and prompting! What a privelidge is has been to listen these years (it's been years now) to your thoughts on writing, film making, productivity, self care, books, all of these topics, the topic of life, on living well. Your thinking and work and analysis of things you encounter and things you seek out has produced valuable fruit for those of us trying to live the best creative life we possibly can. Thank you for this video and for all your work, Nani! Keep up the amazing work!
Thank you so much, Mike. Sorry for the late response. What you said is so true. This is like the experience of writing. When I'm at my day job, I often wish I could stay home to write. But when I'm sitting down to write, I tend to focus on the struggle instead of enjoying the process that I've been wishing for. Having a day job made me write more. Perhaps it's because it creates distance between me and writing. Also, I think you sensed my fear of losing precious memories. As I grow older, time does pass by faster, and I can't recall many interesting things. Maybe it's time to pick back up my daily diary. Yes, I got the bookcase back then when my parents moved into that house with the intention of going back to China. It's not even expensive. I think one of the perks of living in China is there are a lot of cool designs with fair prices because there are a lot of small businesses instead of big brands. I love the idea of the Sabbath. After reading your message, I'm intentionally scheduling a day this week for that purpose and to try it out. I think it will be great for my creativity as well as my memory. So that I don't forget who I am in the business of pursuing.
@@NaniLiYang Thanks for your thoughtful reply, Nani! I had a good Sabbath yesterday, reviewing old notes, reviewing what I've done outside of writing, my writing project, notes on books I've been reading. It's amazing how relaxed and how fruitful I find it when I'm not trying to move forward but spend some time in work already done. It provides new ideas and new clarity, I can say that for my writing. Plus, it seems like I'm sacrificing those hours but I find the time seems to multiply. When I came back to my writing this morning with the new ideas and refreshed perspective I find myself making better progress than ever. So, it's been good so far. One last note, since I too have been thinking about these things. In January of 2021 I opened a google doc called Monthly Notables. At the end of th month I take my calendar, my BUJO, my journal and I look for highlights. and I put them down in blullet point fashion. 5-10 usually per month. Things like (MY nephew)_ had his first day of kindergarten today. Father's Day at Chris'; I finished War and Peace! Everything Everywhere all at once in Princeton with Stonegarden, finally watched Beneath the Banyan Tree! things like that. its been great to have a bunch of stuff like that all in one place. Anyway, always great to share in your thought life. You're full of great ideas and inspiration.
As usual such deep thinking. I get so much out of hearing what's on your mind! Today's topic is one of those bird's eye view topics, to me, you prompt us to look not at just what's in front of us but to look at the past, present and future in a way that makes it all as appreciated and useful as possible. Finding value to apply to today and make the future better for ourselves, our family, our community, our work. You start with the expression, "Distance creates beauty". Yes, wise, true. I've heard the sentiment before and it's good to think about. Reminds me of "Absence makes the heart grow fonder" and more bluntly, "You don't know what you've got til it's gone".... At one point you said everything is precious. I loved that. And when you were being a little hard on yourself for not appreciating your heritage after years in the US I thought of that experience kind of like the experience of writing a script or a novel. The process of it. Living is a process. We need to feel absence, feel renewed connections in order to express them in our writing and films. I also wonder if I should be intentional to minimize the possibility of forgetting. Perhaps have a quarterly review scheduled in about some era of my life. Or some event in my life. High school. The classes, teachers, trials, stresses, fun, what my parents were like, etc...I don't know, periodically looking at my history so I never get too far from it. We know how the busyness of life can sweep us along and when we look up 7 years ahave gone by in a blur. Fighting that is something I took from your video. There was a bookcase in one of the shots, it looked like it was in a bedroom, the shape of the bookcase was that of a giant honey comb? It was so cool. Also, as I sat watching your video the idea of a day of Sabbath came to mind. Having a day, or if not possible a half day a week to stop moving forward and to reflect. OR do something that connects us to the things that sustain us. Maybe its taking a morning to cook a traditional meal of our heritage. Or taking the time to read a Bai story, or for some reading from the Bible. It made me think of the idea of a sabbath, something where you wouldn't have to wait for a trip to China to reset yourself but perhaps on Sundays have friends over for a meal common in your hometown. You're video is making me sit down now and firm up my own version of a Sabbath. Thank you for that insight and prompting! What a privelidge is has been to listen these years (it's been years now) to your thoughts on writing, film making, productivity, self care, books, all of these topics, the topic of life, on living well. Your thinking and work and analysis of things you encounter and things you seek out has produced valuable fruit for those of us trying to live the best creative life we possibly can. Thank you for this video and for all your work, Nani! Keep up the amazing work!
Thank you so much, Mike. Sorry for the late response. What you said is so true. This is like the experience of writing. When I'm at my day job, I often wish I could stay home to write. But when I'm sitting down to write, I tend to focus on the struggle instead of enjoying the process that I've been wishing for. Having a day job made me write more. Perhaps it's because it creates distance between me and writing. Also, I think you sensed my fear of losing precious memories. As I grow older, time does pass by faster, and I can't recall many interesting things. Maybe it's time to pick back up my daily diary. Yes, I got the bookcase back then when my parents moved into that house with the intention of going back to China. It's not even expensive. I think one of the perks of living in China is there are a lot of cool designs with fair prices because there are a lot of small businesses instead of big brands. I love the idea of the Sabbath. After reading your message, I'm intentionally scheduling a day this week for that purpose and to try it out. I think it will be great for my creativity as well as my memory. So that I don't forget who I am in the business of pursuing.
@@NaniLiYang Thanks for your thoughtful reply, Nani! I had a good Sabbath yesterday, reviewing old notes, reviewing what I've done outside of writing, my writing project, notes on books I've been reading. It's amazing how relaxed and how fruitful I find it when I'm not trying to move forward but spend some time in work already done. It provides new ideas and new clarity, I can say that for my writing. Plus, it seems like I'm sacrificing those hours but I find the time seems to multiply. When I came back to my writing this morning with the new ideas and refreshed perspective I find myself making better progress than ever. So, it's been good so far. One last note, since I too have been thinking about these things. In January of 2021 I opened a google doc called Monthly Notables. At the end of th month I take my calendar, my BUJO, my journal and I look for highlights. and I put them down in blullet point fashion. 5-10 usually per month. Things like (MY nephew)_ had his first day of kindergarten today. Father's Day at Chris'; I finished War and Peace! Everything Everywhere all at once in Princeton with Stonegarden, finally watched Beneath the Banyan Tree! things like that. its been great to have a bunch of stuff like that all in one place. Anyway, always great to share in your thought life. You're full of great ideas and inspiration.
I'm so excited about this topic. I look forward to watch it this evening !!!
Thank you! Looking forward to hear your thoughts! ☺️