Day 29: A New Contributor, Chicken Wings and a Break

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Day 29:  A New Contributor, Chicken Wings and a Break

Day 29:  I slept.  And it was glorious.  I don’t mean to be dramatic but sleep has been missing in action lately.  All the to-dos, excitement around the doc moving forward and the thrill of the new venture has me wired and working nonstop.  Shutting the mind off isn’t so easy.  It doesn’t help that I don’t want to shut it off.  I love the inspired and motivated state I’m in.  It’s been a couple of years since I’ve felt this way and I want to ride the wave for as long as it lasts.  Which I’m sure won’t be forever.  Nothing lasts that long.

I leisurely crawl out of bed after a luxurious 9 plus hours of shuteye.  I check emails to find one from a potential new contributor for the site.  I planted the seed of him contributing a few weeks ago and frankly, I didn’t necessarily think it would sprout.  He’s busy, his life is full, and he doesn’t have much downtime.  It’s a surprise to hear from him.  Turns out he’s been inspired to write me about an experience where the concept of the website’s paradox, Think Outside The Box Inside The Box, was in play in his work.  I absolutely love it!

Different worlds

The world he exists in is very different than mine, figuratively and literally—we’re 1,668 miles apart.  The industry he works in is seemingly far from the fine arts but he manages to find philosophy, meaning and artistry in it.  His experience is fascinating, his examination unexpected.  He opens my mind even further about the concept I’m attempting to live every day this year.  He gives further validation to my hunch that thinking outside the box inside the box and creating from what you have is not just for artists and creative types, it’s for everyone, everywhere.

I can’t resist, I ring him right away after reading his story.  It’s way too early on a Sunday morning.  I wake his wife.  She graciously doesn’t hang up on me but finds him so he and I can talk.  I’m a little nervous on the call because I really want him to contribute to the conversation on the site.  After an unexpectedly deep discussion peppered with lots of laughs, it turns out he’s game to write a column from his point of view!  He warns me it may not be right away or often.  Fine.  I’ll take it.

After this small victory I contemplate firing up the Avid.  I left off yesterday in the middle of an interview string out of one of my favorite characters in the film.  I’m eager to get back to her.  Today will be seven days in a row.  This makes me pause because I’ve told myself it’s best to take a day off from the doc once a week.  It’s just so hard.  There’s so much to do and it’s so on my mind.  Maybe I should take some downtime today.  This is not an easy decision to make.  I vacillate for a solid hour and finally decide it’s best for the project and me.  I need a break.  My hope is it will make me all the more productive tomorrow.  Fingers crossed.

Guilty pleasures

After I make peace with my choice, I contemplate my next move on a Sunday afternoon.  It’s 76 and sunny out but I decide to make chicken wings instead of go for a walk.  Chicken wings are a guilty pleasure of mine and I happen to have a package of party wings in the freezer.  Score!  A platter of hot wings and a six pack were my favs in college. Hey, at least there’s no gluten or sugar in them.  After gorging on the deep fried deliciousness of the wings, I toggle back and forth between the SAG awards and Something’s Gotta Give on HBO.  I miss the majority of the awards because I get so completely sucked into Diane and Jack.  The crying scenes after Harry breaks her heart are truly inspired.  As I click off the TV and make my way back to my laptop to report on my day of thinking outside the box inside the box, I realize that unexpected emails, guilty pleasures and downtime were all a part of what I had to create from today—and they were exactly what I needed.

Until tomorrow, create from what you have…it might be just what you need.

Kelli Joan Bennett is a filmmaker, actress, writer, entrepreneur, advocate for creative thinking and Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Think Outside The Box Inside The Box Media.

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