25th of February

“Make use of the things around you.

This light rain

Outside the window, for one.”

–  Raymond Carver (from Sunday Night)

'Make use of'... as a phrase, inspires warmth in me... part of it is that my Mom said it a lot when I was a kid (that, and 'Here, make yourself useful' which was generally a warm invitation to join her in some chore or activity)...part of it is that it is a phrase which speaks to the tie between industry (note the small “i”) and creativity. And not just for purely creative endeavors... I have watched friends fix things in surprising ways, enjoyed more theoretical combinations, and, of course, there are the more artistic examples. 

Joseph Cornell would be one of the first to jump to mind for his shadow boxes and collages... and it occurs to me, that making use of the things you come across, is very different from 'found art' or accidental inspiration of some sort... those are often excellent, but are almost purely examples of someone's vision of a thing from their own perspective. Again, that can be interesting. But this 'making use of' something, a la Cornell, or Carver, involves the work that goes into seeing it a certain way, and then the work that goes into moulding it, or rendering it into something useful, something beautiful, or something interesting, maybe thought-provoking. 

As I write this, it is raining outside the window, so there's that. But, that rain could be a thing to be all dreary about, to whine about the weather, or the whatever... or I can choose to enjoy it in some small way. I can do something in response to the rain... let's say go get under the covers. But how I do that is my choice, and my intention around the activity, no matter what it is, defines the activity: I can climb under the covers to escape, and stay there all day, or I can celebrate the grey, wet day by climbing under covers for a bit, to read, to nap, or just to think. I can even make it a whole other thing by inviting my partner to join me, or by playing a game under the covers with my 4-yr old. There are a myriad of possibilities. Whatever it is, I can make use of it. 

the Keeper (word to think about/keep with me for a bit): 

“Useful” - adj. 1.) able to be used for a practical purpose or in several ways. make oneself useful : do something that is of some value or benefit to someone.

I hope to be useful today. Perhaps I can make use of something that I would have otherwise overlooked.