I’m in love with spring. It’s my favorite time of year. Nature and life show their intent to burst forth anew. The sun is warmer, the days are longer and the fresh smell of the earth is once more in the air.

So I will often enthusiastically declare “spring is here!” with the people I interact with. And I’m always surprised by how many of them will say things like “yeah, but it’s so messy.”

Really? That’s your experience of spring – it’s messy?

So I pondered this for the first time in a deeper way.

Yes. Spring is messy. In this part of Canada, it’s very messy and it lasts for weeks. Puddles, road dirt, sand, soggy leaves from the fall… all sorts of mess.

Messy. Check. And so is everything in life that I find so wonderful. Life is messy for one thing. Full of curves, surprises, setbacks, dark periods, serendipity, dreams, gifts, passion, hard lessons… You can’t create without making a mess.

Art is messy. Cleaning brushes, mixing paints, tossing half finished projects. Scribbled and lost notes, writers block, half-started novels. Lighting cables and blowing circuits, broken equipment, batteries that die.

Relationships are messy. People grow apart. Unmet expectations. Histories and the stories we tell each other and ourselves. Impatience. Growth. Contraction.

Cooking and eating are messy.

Love is messy.

Sex is messy.

I say – so what. Messy is what life is. How could it be any other way? For me, I’m learning more and more to look beyond the mess. And even embracing the mess – stuff to do – ways to be. All in service of our evolution.

Abraham tells a story of a person who travels to Paris for the first time. Stepping out of the taxi in front of the hotel, their foot is greeted by overflowing sewer water. And that becomes their experience of Paris – by giving their attention to this brief mess. Paris – one of the most glorious cities on earth – defined by attention to the messy side.

Spring may not be your favorite season. But please look beyond the mess – everywhere.

Now that I think of it, mashups are messy and that’s the whole point! Bring things together in a wonderful mess that may or may not work. But the effort is always worthwhile. Creation is an imperative in life – even if you’re not pleased with the result, creation is what you have to do.

Now when it comes to spring I love puddles and especially cracking through the ice on a cool spring morning – best thing ever – for me. I went out of my way to do just that a few days ago on my way to work, before getting in my car. How irresponsible. How messy. How fun.

I’m not against clean or cleaning. That is often the appropriate response to a mess in your kitchen or in your life. The mess is a call to action. A call to being. Don’t wring your hands over it. Just respond or accept.

I’m not saying that you should pursue messes…or maybe that’s exactly what you should do. After all, you probably went out of your way to make and play in messes when you were younger. Maybe you should return to those days. It may be time to play with messes again – consciously. Attend to the mess in a positive way.

Messes could be a sign you’re on to something. Growth, creation and life can’t really happen without messes. It maybe that the bigger the mess, the greater the creation – the greater the growth. More life. Maybe you should head for the biggest mess you can tolerate – and then go farther.

I’m not telling you what to do. But heading toward more and more messiness – bigger messes – may be exactly what you need right now. But please don’t take my word for all this. I’m no expert. The truth is my life is kinda messy right now.

But the more I think about it, arranging your life to avoid messiness may be a very poor way of living. It’s surely a myth that with enough planning and thinking, you can anticipate and avoid every bump in the road. You can’t. If you’re experiencing a pretty smooth life, you may be lucky for a while. But perhaps you’re staying small to avoid those creations in your life that would test and grow you – make things messy.

The more I think about this, the more convinced I am that messiness can be a valuable sign of progress, as well as a deep well of inspiration.

Know that where there is mess, there is life and here we are. Would you rather be anywhere else?

Love the mess. I’m learning to. Now where are those iced over puddles?

We are here to change the world.

It is time.

Begin.

I obviously have a pretty broad definition of a mashup. Some mashups are reformulations or alterations of the status quo.

I’m going to be posting all sorts of things here, but I like to find and point out things I see out there that fit with my ideas about mashups, evolution and connection.

How App Makers Are Pioneering Gender Fluid Design for Kids

An article touting the obvious advantages of seeking to design apps for human beings regardless of a gender distinction.

And interestingly the title of the piece includes “fluid” – reinforcing my love of flow.

Break down the walls! Connections rule!

I have a daughter – thank goodness – after three brothers and one sister, I was really hoping that I would have a daughter and she was born first. I have a son as well. I was determined to expose her to everything regardless of traditions. So I would drag her to the hardware store with me – for me, an area of endless fascination. She was not interested in the least. Her orientation was toward more traditional girl stuff – no problem – I had no agenda – only her personal education and path. I just didn’t want to limit her in any way with my ideas or baggage – as much as possible.

So now she’s an engineer. Gender neutral – the future – and all part of the mashup.

We are here to change the world.

It is time.

Begin.

Here’s a term that’s new to me, but one that makes perfect sense.

5 Indications That ‘Side-Gigging’ Is More Than a Fad

Side gigging – part-time work, apart from your main job.

But really, many artists – visual, actors, writers and musicians have been doing this forever.

Now it’s being sanctioned as cool, which it is, as long as you enjoy the side job. We always knew artists were cool, but now they can add another trendy term to their CV.

Artists are often in a position to pursue a side job they may not love, to pay the rent. Here the side gig is presumably the job you love, but if you’re lucky, both jobs are an inspiration to you.

Ultimately, it’s all a mashup. More and more people are moving beyond the 9 to 5 tradition – embracing more fulfilling work outside of the typical work space. As usual, artists are leading the way. And for some, the side gig could become your only job. All part of the evolution and flow of our development.

Flow is going to be a topic for the future – it’s a favorite interest of mine – a way of seeing the world. Flow is everywhere. It’s sort of the counterpoint to rhythm – another interesting lens for the world.

The days of sticking with a single job or career for decades is over.

This article doesn’t believe this more varied work life is a fad – it’s a trend. I agree – part of our evolution.

Viva the side gig!

We are here to change the world.

It is time.

Begin.

This blog is based on two knowings.

Everything and everyone is connected. There are no real divisions. We just create borders for ease of thought and attention. There’s nothing wrong with that, but divisions are ultimately an illusion. And one must always be willing to see beyond our illusions.

And something is coming. Something big. And it’s a change in human consciousness. It’s bigger than we can imagine. As part of our evolution, both personal and global, there are jumps, when change is disruptive and profound. I think the evidence is that we are building towards such a jump. The biggest one yet for humanity. And that is a very good thing. We’re ready.

Mashups are mixtures of things that combine reality in new ways. Each of us are mashups that we create on a daily basis as we weave the fabric of our lives. Mashups herald and celebrate the divine creation we are all involved in. Mashups are becoming more interesting and fun as they pave the way for our future evolution. Mashups have always been with us, but they’re exploding in complexity and volume.

I want to look at art, culture, science, technology, psychology, spiritualism – all to increase and serve peace and love, and raise the vibration and energy of people and the planet.

This blog is going to be a mashup of ideas and opinions – a grand collaboration to show and weave the connections that exist in this physical world as well as behind and beyond it. I want to support and encourage this evolution in any way I can. I look forward to everyone’s contribution.

The only rules here are peace, love and respect.

So this blog, and my life, are dedicated to connection and evolution… And love. Love is the means and the goal. We stand on the precipice of infinity. I’m jumping. Are you with me?

We are here to change the world.

It is time.

Begin.