Finding Gifts in the Sequence of Things

Have you ever taken the time to think about the footsteps that brought you to where you are today?

I mean those little fluctuations in the force that made you turn left when you were told to turn right. I was told by my Dad to take a civil servant job, get a pension, and call it a life. I turned left.

I have been complimented on my game designs. I’m grateful for the opportunity to share some ideas with the world. Was there a connection, a trail of lily pads that led to this point?

I remember as a child in Harlem, N.Y., my father coming home with a large roll of printing paper from his job. Obviously, he wanted a little alone time with Mom, so he’d roll about six feet of paper on the floor, throw down some pencils and crayons, and tell the three of us to fill it up with drawings. We knew nothing about the needs of marriage, but we spent hours drawing. LOL.

From those hours of drawing, I lilypadded my way into art clubs in elementary school and junior high school. In high school, I majored in architecture. In college, I went from architecture and engineering to sculpture and fine arts.

Little did I realize that I had been leapfrogging my way into 3-D visualization. I saw the building and the forms I wanted to create clearly in my head. If mistakes happened, I could see where changes were needed and make them.

Dreaming became an integral part of the creative process. I learned never to dismiss those dreams. From artwork to the characters in the books I write, I’d get images of what changes needed to be made. What problems need to be looked at, and how to correct them. Still learning.

Even in songwriting, I could hear the needed changes. So finally, when game designing became a part of my matrix. I could visualize the game board, build workable wooden models, and jot down the basic rules. I then allow dreams to ask the questions about the project while showing possible outcomes. Keeping a pad or booklet by the bed does wonders for those pre-dawn solutions. Nothing like scribbling from a dream and saying, “Oh yeah, that works!”

Now that I’m over the 75-year-old crowd, I see the trail of breadcrumbs that lead me here. The people, the influencers, the arguments, and my acts of rebellion when people told me not to be an artist, musician, or writer. That my vivid imagination and daydreaming were a waste of time.

My suggestion to all God’s children, if you see it, feel it, and have the desire to bring something positive into the world, do so. You’ve probably been leaping from lilypad to lilypad to bring you to this point in life, never realizing the connection. Make it happen. Keep designing. Keep creating. There are gifts in the sequence of things. What sequences and gifts brought you to this point in your life?