The rope cut hard into my ribs stopping my fall. The taught safety line held, but the momentum swung me into the rock face with a bone-jarring thud. The pain surged through my veins, but I was safe and decided to take in the view. Devil’s Lake was always beautiful in the fall and climbing the face of it increased my appreciation of nature.

I was no expert rock climber like those who had the special shoes, pouch of talc and strap filled with carabiners. I merely had a sense of adventure. It brought about similar feelings that filmmaking did, but with much more adrenaline in the moment.

The experience brought out a sense of relevance to my life. Maybe it was the risk factor that placed my life in jeopardy or the thrill that came from overcoming the odds. In either case, the thoughts provoked by the climb became a filter for the following three weeks – Bringing a new awareness or meaning to life.

The climb and flexible strategy for making my way up the face was always interesting, and the amazing view to die for. This was partly due to the exploration of a place that I had never been to before, coupled with a rush of accomplishment, while surrounded by impeccable beauty.

Adventurous explorations of any kind shifted my perspective to those things that were relevant, interesting and amazing. While I rarely noticed it in most films, that same eye-opening sense showed up within excellent movies like Gravity, The Blind Side, and Les Miserables.

It made me wonder if leaders, pastors and screenwriters were missing something – Something very important.

What if our leaders would live a life that is relevant, interesting and amazing?

Would you be drawn to their words? I would.

I’ve done some amazing things in life like escaping from handcuffs in front of the Chief of Police, shooting a surgical video inside of a woman’s sinus cavity, and watching myself being operated on in a hospital. And the list goes on.

The “interesting” part seems to go hand in hand with amazing experiences. People are genuinely curious when they hear true accounts that are beyond their understandings. In fact, there’s a bit of a fascination that accompanies bizarre occurrences. And, my life is filled with them.

The biggest struggle for me is in the area of being relevant for the sake of those around me. I seem to be surrounded by such an eclectic group of people that I’m not sure what part of my life is worth sharing with others. Or, if I have any thing relevant to share that’s worth their time.

You see, when I’m with another person I feel that it’s my moral obligation to bless them in some way. I know that might sound a bit strange, but I really feel a compulsion to encourage and inspire those with whom I come into contact. This is mostly due to all the blessings I’ve received in life, which I believe can be passed on to others.

Years ago, I was climbing the face of Devil’s Lake bluffs with a group of friends. One in particular told me that it was okay to feel the fear that arose each time my foot slipped or my grip weakened. He reminded me that our time on earth is short and when we realize it, the beauty found in each moment becomes magnified. In those moments we are able to share a blessing with others – Sharing the essence of life with them from the depths of our hearts.

My friend was right about that passion for life and love. There is something very relevant that pours from an authentic person in the moment. Some how, regardless of the times and political atmosphere of the day, our passion to love someone becomes very relevant to the recipient.

I figure that’s why people who go through a divorce recovery group together form a special bond. Or, why Jesus told his followers that those around them would be drawn to him when they see believers loving each other. Love will always be relevant.

I’d like the opportunity to make a movie, write a book and present at a speaking engagement a story that demonstrates what happens to us when we see an amazing and interesting life filled with relevance. I believe the audience would greatly value that moment in their own life.

What are your thoughts?

The golden sunrise cut through the curtain-less windows casting a warm glow across the filthy carpet, revealing more than a few dust bunnies that had surrendered to the ceiling fan’s breeze. The carpet was dirty and a sign of the hard times I attempted to survive.

Stepping out of bed was the first of many battles the day would bring; exhausting my efforts from the first moment my bare feet sank deep into the grungy carpet. Several months of darkness had settled into my life since the last time I borrowed a vacuum cleaner.

It had been two years since I had a job that paid the bills generated by a ten-year-old lifestyle based on simple cash flow – A history that might never repeat itself. The lifestyle was grounded on realistic parameters at the time. I had purchased my house at such an economical price that I didn’t worry about hard times reducing my wages by 20 or 30%.

But my foresight was shallow and didn’t see the back-to-back lay-offs that followed a pricey divorce. Nor did I give thought to the possibility that my vacuum cleaner would break down, while I experienced negative cash flow.

That’s not to say that I didn’t see signs of hope in my life. Even this morning I was greeted with a “thank you” email for my having shared several thoughts at a recent get-together. A generous Paypal deposit into my overdrawn account accompanied the note.

With a new form of thankfulness in my heart, I walked down the steps and saw a reminder of my babysitting duties. I’ve been dog and cat sitting for two weeks, while my son and his family travel in Wisconsin for a week of business followed by a week of vacation.

The kitchen and dinning room floors, which hadn’t been touched by a vacuum in months, had torn discarded plastic strewn all about from the night before. The dog had gotten into the bread drawer, pulled out a full loaf and two half loafs of bread, and devoured all trace evidence except for the plastic. Not a single crumb could be found.

I picked up several clumps of dirt along with the plastic and wondered how the solid layer of crud might impact my health or cause visitors to flee. I felt embarrassed by the sight, but knew there was nothing at the time that I could do to improve on the situation.

I longed for enough money to buy a new vacuum cleaner, but would settle on finding a friend willing to loan me their vacuum for a day or two every couple of weeks. I figured it wouldn’t be too bad to share, as my parents pooled lawn mowers, camping equipment and snow blowers with the neighbors as I grew up.

One thing is certain, when I finally get back on my feet, it’ll be on the cleanest carpet in town. I might even find myself vacuuming every day for a few weeks. And, if I ever make it back to my previous lifestyle, I’ll buy a couple extra vacuum cleaners to help out any friends who might be experiencing the same economic strains that I’ve unwillingly encountered.

Copyright © 2014 by CJ Powers

I bumped into a film techno-geek yesterday at Home Depot. She just moved into the area from New York and works at one of the top motion picture sales and rental companies in the nation. Her goal was to make sure she continued to explore the arts and find new ways of expressing herself.

While our conversation touched on the latest technologies and how to most effectively use data storage devices, including a new system that can turn a C300 into a C500, we brainstormed a way for her to create a flexible template for screen painting.

Her first thought was to purchase a thin plastic sheet of milar, cut various designs into it and use it with aerosol paint to spray her artwork onto a paintable surface. This would require a certain amount of registration in order to align the various colors and more flexibility than rigidity.

Several ideas were bounced around during our discussion from using plastic lighting gels to Plexiglas sheets – All being transparent for registration purposes.

Then it dawned on me. The template would have to cut cleanly and with enough precision to capture curves without jagged edges. It would also be helpful if it were transparent, not only for the alignment requirements, but also for any spraying precision required by the design.

The answer seemed simple. The number of millimeters of thickness would make all the difference in the world. So, what if she used thick packing tape? If she started with a piece of printed artwork and covered it with a layer of tape, she would be able to use an Exacto blade to trace the exact lines of the paper. And, if she needed the template to be 3 or 4 millimeters thick, she could just add another layer or two of tape.

By tapering the cut, she could also make sure the spray paint kept to a hard edge. This would allow tighter lines and a more accurate final image – It’d be like creating a custom stencil.

In that moment we both knew that the idea would work. The joy that filled her face as she started to imagine how her design would look was priceless. Her new custom tool was going to make her artistic expressions come to life in a way that honored her vision for the project. She immediately saw how the technology of her solution would facilitate her artistry.

It was such an enlightening moment that I too was ready to purchase some packing tape and spray paint. After all, art in any form helps us to express those inner feelings that are worth sharing.