Your One Word 2
Fragments from imaginary dialogues
“Once you discover your One Word [<link; medium read], the next stage is going granular, gaining more and more clarity on what it means. Building a high-fidelity model / map.”
“What’s your process for doing that?”
“I’m thinking meta.
What is the highest-order level that captures the essence of who I am / strive to be?
I’m focusing on four domains – like four cardinal-points:
Meta-Identity (essential identity-blocks [<link; medium read])
Meta-Principles
Meta-Values
Meta-Skills
Visually the map looks like this:
Each item on the map is a (ever-evolving) philosophy in itself.”
“You’ve beautified the map itself.”
“There’s a quote I love by Josh Waitzkin:
The real art in learning takes place as you move beyond proficiency, when your work becomes an expression of your essence.
Expanded to the Art of (Playful) Living:
The real art in living takes place when your work becomes an expression of your essence – and your entire life becomes your work.
For the Life-Artist everything is a means of self-expression.”
“Do you think that anyone can be a Life-Artist?”
“Yes. I strongly believe that anyone can, if they choose to.”
Mover
Fragments from imaginary dialogues
“What kind of music do you like to move on?”
“I like to move on music. I don’t need a certain kind of music. I let the music I like – whatever it is – dictate the movement.”
“An improvised self exploration?”
“You could say that.”
Extraordinary Life
If you want to live an extraordinary life, you have to give up many of the things that make up an ordinary one. (Srinivas Rao)
Fragments from imaginary dialogues
“I want to live an extraordinary life.”
“What do you mean by extraordinary life?”
“An extraordinary life is a Creative life.
An extraordinary life is a life of Meaning.
An extraordinary life is a continuous and never-ending process of BECOMING.
An extraordinary life is a Heroic life,
a life dedicated to Perfecting and Transcending the Self,
to becoming ALL you can be, in Service to the World.
To live an extraordinary life you must BECOME EXTRAORDINARY.”
Life-Artist 2
Fragments from imaginary dialogues
“You’ve undoubtedly heard the words ‘The Art of Living’ many times.”
“I have.”
“For a long time I read the words without grasping the meaning [<link; medium length].
To really grasp the meaning is to LIVE it.
I call this ‘lived-understanding‘.
To really grasp the meaning is to BECOME the Artist you were always meant to be.
When you do, your WHOLE LIFE becomes your canvas, a fundamental means of self-expression.
It’s hard to convey how profound that is.
There isn’t ANYTHING that isn’t your Art.
From the Inner Realm to the Outer, from the personal to the interpersonal. Body, Mind, Spirit, EVERYTHING is your Art.
And your Art is SACRED.
You shape it moment by precious moment, with every breath, with every micro-choice you make.
To use a metaphor, think of a picture on your computer. When you zoom all the way in, what do you see?”
“Pixels.”
“That’s what your life looks like at the micro-level.
As the Artist, you must have the Vision to SEE the Macro in the Micro [<link; medium], to see the zoomed-out picture in the pixel of the moment.”
Note-Taking as Art
I’ve been taking written notes for many years. My notes have always been aesthetic. Looking back over some of my older notes today, in contrast with the most recent ones, I noticed a significant decline in aesthetic quality. And then it struck me.
I love calligraphy!
I’ve been doing it for a long time, but unconsciously. I now realize it’s such an important part of me, and a significant venue for self-expression.
That’s when I wrote the following in my notes:
Note-taking as Calligraphy
Note-taking as Meditation
Note-taking as Art
Yes, that is Me!
It was such a profound realization, that I got tears in my eyes.
Imaginary dialogues
Fragments from imaginary dialogues
“Why do you express your thoughts in the form of dialogue?”
“It wasn’t something I planned. It started as a playful experiment. As I kept doing it, and as my appreciation of dialogue grew, it gradually became a means of self-expression. You could say I’ve found my own creative voice.
I like to think of dialogue as fertilizer for thought. Reflection is important, but without outside input, it tends to become its own little echo chamber. Dialogue has the potential to open your mind, expand your horizons, and enrich your perspective.
In expressing myself through dialogue, it’s also my own way of honoring it, and a symbolic way of honoring perspectives different from my own.”
Creative Destiny 2
Fragments from imaginary dialogues
“Why are you doing x?“
“I’m expressing myself.“
“You’re thinking small.
Express yourself through your living.
Make your whole life a Creative Act,
Make your whole life a Work of Art.“
Dani Trusca 
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