Beginning the Sparrow Era
Dum Spiro Spero “While I breathe, I hope”
This Latin saying has been one of the main forward-focused foundations of my life over the past couple of years. After hitting one of my lowest points back in 2020, my perspective of purpose shifted. I was initially a people-pleaser and felt like I was failing compared to others above me.
Over the course of these last couple of years, I’ve been able to grasp more and more that everyone is truly unique and has their own set path in life. I don’t believe that the goal in the creative field is to be better than everyone else, but rather it should be to figure out how to keep honing your own craft and determine what your style is. A quote from Albert Einstein that has resonated with me is this:
“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”
~Albert Einstein
A huge revelation to me as a Christian is that in God, I’m already enough. This is a truth profoundly stated in 1 and 2 Corinthians. There will always be people better or worse than me in the field I’m in, and ultimately it’s all unfulfilling if the goal is to be the best. It’s an endless cycle of pushing toward the unachievable and breaking down when we don’t achieve it. However, in my life, knowing that I’m already enough is the state of mind that lifts the burden off my shoulders. From here, my goal is only this:
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
1 Corinthians 10:31
And as for me, I find that the glory comes in continuing to hone the craft that I’ve been given the opportunity and ability to specialize in. Each and every day, the goal is not to win but to improve, and improvement is the true victory in this process. Perhaps you’re not a Christian, but I do hope that these words resonate with you in some way as it did for me.
As the band AJR says in their song “Bummerland”
“It's my all time low
And I just can't wait
'Cause the quicker I'm there
Is the quicker I'll say
Bummerland, here I am
Better nix my summer plans
Bummerland, give a cheer
'Cause you're only going up from here”
~AJR
And that’s the most transparent echo of what I’m doing with LUN [02] as I move up from a creative and life-based all-time low. There will be ups and downs, but through it all there is progress (a philosophy I was introduced to by my wonderful girlfriend Shanille Rose).
So through it all, the good and bad, Dum Spiro Spero “While I breathe, I hope.”
(and if you’re curious, it’s called the “Sparrow Era” partly as a play on words off of the Latin phrase, partly as a visualization of flying up and onwards, and partly because I just love birds).
