I admire BOB for a host of different reasons. He reminds me of a character trait that people tend to overlook or even totally forget. The big secret of the king of comfort and free flow painting, applicable to all skills beyond painting, was his ability to paint everything in his landscapes with EQUAL passion. There was a balance in his focus. Be it his attention in making a fluffy cloud appear in a big blue sky, a majestic mountain range adorned with a carpet of pine trees or a homely cabin on a hill near a brook with a little smoke coming out of the chimney. Oh wait a minute.... SPLAT! A busy little squirrel…rushing up that tree! I get calm just thinking about this…;).
What was so relevant about BOB was that he created a COMPLETE story by valuing not only the grand, but also appreciating the tiny little things in his paintings.
So… What is the reason I added a bobblehead of “BOB ROSS” to the heading of this post and not one of equally cool Stan Lee, Barak Obama or Rowan Atkinsons Mr. Bean? A bobbing Bob triggers my attention to the relevant reminder of finding balance will working by looking up and down. This is closely related to another reminder which I would like to share with you here.
Bobs bobbing head is about presence. When he is moving his head promted by the movement of your car, his “BOB” tends to make the inanimate object a personable one. A moving head is something you can relate to! This small object becomes SOMEONE you can talk to or even confide in… or is it just me?
My interest in the up and down head motion of BOB lies in its repetitive nature. The BOBBING goes UP and DOWN, UP and DOWN, UP and DOWN… constantly reminding me of the most important tool in my toolbox. The ability to change my FOCUS!
In my practice I tend to do one core thing that allows me to do what the BOBBLEHEAD does when the car is moving. I allow myself to always be able to take a step back and move my head up and down… Look down to get into the details of a problem and look up the see the challenge and opportunities that lie ahead. The stepping back is something I learned doing large sand sculpting projects (that’s another story). So why do this??? What I learned during that time was that you never see or experience the whole picture of your work until you take a step back and look at your actions from a little distance.
“Stepping back (and allowing yourself to look UP) is what people tend to forget.”
The in real life (IRL) presence of BOB, or any character of your own choosing, is just a reminder. A friendly trigger to keep balancing your downward detailed focus with an upward glance beyond your horizon! Combine the surface connections that are right in front of you, with a depth of interest into infinite spaces of meaning and significance.
It is your EQUAL attention to both that will allow you to keep your Focus Flexible!
So if you need reminding… invest in a BOB!
Bless your focus…and catch you on the flipside… ;)
Denace
*The BOBblehead is and amazing little product with a rich history. It originated in Germany as opposed to my immediate thought that it must be an American invention. Major League Baseball in the 1940’s however is responsible for scaling this hypnotic nicnac across the states and after that in pop-culture around the world.