For those suffering holiday [commercial] season stress…

“It’s not what you get, but what you think you’re getting…” Carlo Centeno

I‘ve said and used that one epigram countless times when teaching, when conveying nuances about branding, attribute positioning and when attempting to make sense of features and benefits not only in marketing, but across all that is Life, mine and others.

The holidays are tough for many. I’m not alone in this. Funny how art, music, literature, et al have a way of refocusing one’s POV. That POV may be for one moment, but it’s enough to shake you and pull yourself together to help find the best things within the moment at hand. And “best” does not have to be anything grandiose; small gems can be just as grand.

So on those days, when I think I’m getting blasted by the commercial beasts of the season, I remind myself of my aphorism above and recall the lyrics to this song, “Watching the River Run,” a timeless salve created by Kenny Loggins and Jim Messina.

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If you’ve been thinkin’ you were all that you’ve got
Then don’t feel alone anymore
‘Cause when we’re together then you’ve got a lot
‘Cause I am the river and you are the shore

And it goes on and on, watching the river run
Further and further from things that we’ve done
Leaving them one by one
And we have just begun, watching the river run
Listening and learning and yearning to run, river, run

Winding and swirling and dancing along
We passed by the old willow tree
Where lovers caress as we sing them our song,
Rejoicing together when we greet the sea

And it goes on and on, watching the river run
Further and further from things that we’ve done
Leaving them one by one
And we have just begun, watching the river run
Listening and learning and yearning to run, river, run

Written by Jim Messina, Kenny Loggins • Copyright © Universal Music Publishing Group, Gnossos Music / Milk Money Music

Mt. Greylock in the Fog

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At 3,491 feet [1,064 meters], Mt. Greylock is the tallest peak in Massachusetts. On a clear day, you can see upwards of 90 miles or so. That wasn’t the case on this late-autumn afternoon. Still, the quietness and solitude of the place proved cathartic.

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The Bascom Lodge on the peak allows hikers and those bitten by wanderlust to stay overnight though that recently ended when 5-inches of new snow fell the weekend of October 22, 2016. The Lodge reopens next spring.

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Juxtaposition x3

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I‘m unsure as to who lives inside the shiny, trailer home. Perhaps the building superintendant for apartments closeby? I am taken by the juxtaposition of 3 perception points in these 2 photographs. There’s the trailer home, the new apartments just behind it and the skeleton of what appears to be a very large factory, literally a shell of its former self.

 

The Humphs…

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I think I’ve seen just about everything this election year. It won’t get the best of me in spite of it. So, after conferring with my buddy, Humphrey, we determined that he is another option for the ballot. Humphs may not have fluency in diplo-speak and he doesn’t speak from both sides of his mouth [jaw?], but he will be honest about things…and you will know it.

Spread the word. You’ll feel in the dumps, if you don’t vote for Humphs!

The Focus Point

 

When you encounter a vista, or even a myriad of details that are attached to work [read: deadlines, projects, concurrent goals, e.g.], what do you see?

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Everything is subjective when it comes to expressing oneself with a painting, a short story, and a photograph. I know I’ve missed a few other examples, but I listed the aforementioned for expediency.

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Whether you’re taking a picture, painting a landscape or creating a marketing communication plan, sometimes we can’t see the forest for the trees, and on other occasions, every nuance, every detail and purpose comes into clear focus.

While it matters where you’re looking, other times what matters more is what you are “seeing.”

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