The Daily Maybe #23: The Art of Respecting The Vision
Smash that try button.
Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others.
— Jonathan Swift
Hello and welcome to The Daily Maybe! Today, I woke up feeling determined. Determined to follow my new schedule. Determined to actually eat breakfast before work. Determined to write.
Then I got hungry at my writing start time and mucked about for two hours.
Aaaaand there’s your daily insight into my writing process. We have fun here. Now, onto today’s post. Usually, I tell some story from my life and attach a “meaningful” life lesson to it. Today, however, I’m not recounting the multiple events of a whole story. No, today we’re going to dive into a simple thought I had while reading a random article on Medium:
I like that man’s vision.
“Who is ‘that man’?” I hear you ask. I mean, I hope you were asking that. I’m not sure what kind of person is left with a cryptic sentence and asks no questions. You were asking, right dear Reader? Of course you were.
Anyway. The man in question is Tom Kuegler, a writer on Medium I’ve been reading more of as of late. In his recent post, 1 Medium ‘Fan’ Is A Miracle — Start Acting Like It, he spoke about a topic that’s important to me — the value of just one fan. I also wrote about that a while ago:
That topic isn’t what most held my interest, however. Instead, what caught my eye was Kuegler’s vlog. What he wrote about the value of a single commenter and his renewed drive for YouTube was nice to read, but the vlog itself really got me thinking.
I liked the idea he has of starting a daily vlog. I like how Kuegler wants to not only travel, but take his audience with him, and create content all around the world. As well as vlogging, he’s maintaining commitment to his blogging, even looping his writing into tutorial videos every so often.
Though I didn’t enjoy his vlog style 100% of the time during the video, I respected the genuine effort and creativity. He has an idea, and he’s taking serious steps towards executing it. One thought ran through my mind as I read and watched through Kuegler’s ideas:
I like that man’s vision.
I mean, I have appreciation for vloggers in general. The very idea of the vlogger amazes me: imagine having your day-to-day life be so interesting that you can create engaging videos about it. Better yet, imagine just being able to make your daily life seem that watch-worthy!
Vlogging is an art form that I have long respected and enjoyed. I even tried it out a while ago, recording my occasional long walks home from the station. It was a fun way to just talk to and engage with my friends, and I got some encouraging feedback from a bunch of them. I may just try again soon; there’s a camera on my wishlist 👀
Now, you may be wondering where the “art” is here. Allow me to explain. You see, dear Reader, saying you respect people and/or their ideas and actually respecting them are two different things. I’ve just gone off saying how much I value Kuegler’s creative endeavours; what have I done to show it?
Well, I subscribed to his YouTube channel for more vlogs. I signed up for his mailing list for blogging tips. I took the time to think on his content, and ended up with ideas for both this very blog post and how to try get into video content. I said I respected his ideas; then I acted on those words.
Here’s where we get bigger picture. See, too often I’ve had friends of mine say “yeah man, I’m definitely going to read your blog”… and then never actually do so. I don’t even ask them to read, I just offer it as a “take a look if you want to” kind of deal. Then they go ahead and say they “definitely” will, with no intention of ever following through on those words.
Or, worse still, I’ve had people I haven’t spoken to in a while. I tell them I’d like to rectify that situation, they’re down, I say I’ll text them… And then I never do. It’s a bad habit I’ve worked to eschew, but it was mine nonetheless. I put out good intentions, but never did anything about them.
So, I’ve just made two everyday instances of people not following through on their promises sound kinda shitty. Why? To illustrate: All it takes is a few empty words, and suddenly, you’re not respecting the person you’re speaking to.
The same method of disrespect applies to creative vision: be it your own or someone else’s, one cannot simply speak respect for art into existence. Respect has to be shown: actually subscribe to artists you like, give feedback on content you enjoy, click on whatever form the like button has taken on the site you’re visiting. Respect means following through on the expression of your plans and intentions. Not everyone does it, but of those who do, everyone does it differently. It takes thought and effort.
And that’s why respecting the vision is an art form.
🍉 So this one was fun to write. I started this post thinking I’d end it with a simple discussion of why I started following Tom Kuegler. Then I thought to myself, “no, I titled this ‘The Art of Respecting The Vision’. I can say more, create more, from that title.” So I did. I hope you enjoyed, dear Reader.
I also actually followed my writing schedule, and got the post done in the two days I was supposed to. Feels good.
God of War is getting better by the day. I’m almost done tackling the Trials of Muspelheim, and the combat is so satisfying. Speaking of almost done, I’m reaching the final few of chapters of the Greg Mortenson/David Oliver Relin memoir Three Cups of Tea. As of the time of writing, I’ve just done some research and found out that Mortenson allegedly fabricated a lot of the stories in the book, to the extent of actually disgracing and lying about some of the people in the book.
I’m disappointed. I’m not sure if I should finish the book… Though I do love fiction, I didn’t sign up for any with this book. I really am almost just done with the whole thing.
~sigh.~ People are the worst sometimes.
On a brighter note, I made up with a close friend who I was upset with recently, and returned to Toronto for my first fun day out since Ramadhan began over a month ago (it ended last Friday.) Eid Mubarak to those who celebrated!
I’m off for Friday prayers.
Till next we meet,
Sarim
