All Moments Great & Small

by Greg Vineyard

Bibliophiles will recognize that sub-head as a nod to British veterinarian turned author, James Herriot.

I grew up reading books I could not have predicted would stay in my thoughts throughout the years, yet they appear now and then like slow bubbles rising up through ancient tar. A favorite was an annotated version of Alice in Wonderland by Martin Gardner, where the margin notes told me things I never would have understood about Lewis Carroll’s story on my own. Alice’s misadventurous milestones represent many things we encounter on the path of life.

I got to musing upon this topic because this column marks my five year anniversary (60 months!) of contributing to Rapid River Magazine, where I have continually revealed odd bits of myself while sharing about art and life. While I write in a variety of ways, THIS one is monthly, to a word count, maintaining a particular persona across a wide variety of creative thoughts.

Readers (and my editors) have suffered through my age jokes (I’m not particularly young, but I didn’t actually fill Lewis Carroll’s ink-well…), sci-fi references, bad puns, and weird acronyms (W.A.’s), not to mention a slew of made-up words that even inexperienced Scrabble players world-wide wouldn’t hesitate to challenge. Every column is a hard-wrought marker of forward momentum.

According to my Gi-Normous Webster’s, and looking past the first definition of a stone used as a mile-marker, my focus here for “milestone” is: “a significant event or stage in the life, progress, development, or the like of a person…”

In addition to larger, life-changing events, sometimes the most significant milestones one can hit are of the daily variety. Artist? Draw every day. Writer? Write every day. Gardener? Accountant? Star Fleet Captain? (There it is!) Chef? Marketer? We advance every time we pick up a pen, brush, tool, keypad, ledger, child, and so on. Our daily activities and jobs and passions ARE the progress. My inspirations in the art, craft, design and writing worlds worked at their respective crafts continually, and they encourage me to keep evolving. And I think we do that for each other, too.

Observing my fellow artists at ZaPow Illustration Gallery, I am ever-challenged to improve upon my themes, techniques and breadth. In writing, there’s nothing like “word-count” to help you “kill your darlings” in the final draft. Some of my most beloved sentences will surface only during future biography work. I imagine a young researcher unearthing one of these gems, exclaiming: “Wow! WHAT a sentence! And it’s … SO long!”

Each month I see the results of the Rapid River team’s strong, solid work and enthusiasm, and in addition to being pleased to play my small part, I am grateful for the exercise in diligence and mental acuity, and I am stirred to continue onward.

In any field, I believe that energetic action begets increased activity, and that creative efforts yield even more creativity. New ideas show up all the time if we’re open and stimulated. I have found this to be true working in the corporate world, as well. The most technical of companies still need the individuals within them to brainstorm, innovate and stay on top of trends. These actions lead to potential new objectives, and can help to keep a business in business.

In Wonderland, Alice follows something, has unexpected adventures, encounters weird characters and other lesson-granting obstacles, and finds her way. On my drawing table, and in my writing, I experience this, too. Moments can be fleeting, yet each day provides a chance to share and interact and produce in ways both large and tiny. Each moment is a record of a life.

And here’s something really neat about milestones: they’re multitudinous. And endless. We can set them ourselves. We’re doing significant things all the time, whether it’s an initial fall down a rabbit hole, or following the path to which that seemingly clumsy action has led. I wish you great creative adventures in your world of art and culture – every day!