Cloudspotting, Upcycling and Something out of nothing !

Is there something we may know, as “creating something out of nothing”, or is it just a phrase? Could it be linked to magic? Have you heard about Cloud spotting or a society for Cloud enthusiast? What about Upcycling? How do all of these link with what we do or don’t do? Join me in this podcast as I share my thoughts in creating something out of nothing.

Transcript

Cloudspotting, Upcycling and Something out of nothing

Hello Everyone and welcome to the podcast of the Ordinary Maverick. This is Ajey, your host, an ordinary Maverick sharing real life thoughts and experiences and Maverick tips. 

They say the universe was created out of nothing. That’s physics for you. If one does believe that the universe was created out of nothing, then one must also agree that something can be created out of nothing. Of course, there’s another meaning to this, when one creates something out of nothing, it’s also taken as exaggeration or over reaction. You know how we say…you’re making something out of nothing!.

And then of course, there’s magic! Where one conjures up something from thin air. Now who isn’t fascinated by magic. We all are..right. there have been some great magicians in the world. The ones skilled in the art of illusion leave quite an impression. I recall hearing about a show where the magician turned up late, well, that’s what everyone thought. As the show was supposed to start at 8pm and there was no sign of the magician until 0830. Just as the crowd was getting restless, the magician appeared on stage and said welcome to the show, we are starting right on time. And as everyone looked at their watches, the time on everyone’s watch in the entire auditorium showed 8pm. A master illusion created with time. Brilliant!.

I’ve dabbled in magic too. I remember as a boy, getting the magic kit and being fascinated by invisible ink and chalk and the disappearing handkerchief amongst other tricks. Learnt a few over the years and these come in handy when you’re in group events. Ha Ha…yes, learn a trick or two – always helps.

And yes, we’ve all enjoyed the Harry Potter series. If by any chance, you haven’t seen these movies yet…do sit yourself down and watch them. Yes, magic is there, but what’s also there is friendship, trust, respect, innovation, thinking on your feet and just plain sticking together when the going gets rough. We recently watched the entire series as a marathon and it’s amazing how everything connects.

Now creating something out of nothing or rather an illusion to show that you have that which you do not have, or do not have something that you have is powerful. Interestingly, this features as part of the 36 Strategems of Chinese warfare. These are a collection of warfare wisdom gathered over the centuries. Very interesting reading and understanding these ..however, getting back to the subject…the entire principle of something out of nothing is based on the premise that one has nothing or rather there’s never a time when one has everything. But when we look around us, we see resources. And can create something. We can use these resources all around us, but we rarely do. In today’s world, it’s just simpler to buy it or then just let it go. We are losing our creativity or rather, the urge to make something out of nothing. 

Well, over the years, I found myself more and more inclined on creating things. You may ask what things…well, I started creating lamps out of pipes for example, using any material including old calendars to create lamps. It was as if I didn’t want to look at the so-called traditional materials to make lamps, but focus on doing this out of nothing or rather whatever resources I could find. There was a different level of satisfaction and joy in lighting this nontraditional lamp.

One of the main skills needed to make something out of nothing is creativity. That and a thirst for curiosity. You know we’ve all heard about recycling. Right? In today’s world, taking care of our climate, of our environment is so critical and we all need to do our bit. 

But here’s another word, Upcycling. This is about working with something that was ready to be discarded, taken away and then upcycling it to make something new or just giving it a totally different look and feel. Example, we upcycle an old armchair and make it new. Or an old table, we do stenciling and make it colorful and back in use. In other words, we are upcycling. So yes, it’s not making something out of nothing in the true sense, but then we are still being creative and creating something usable, workable, beautiful from a discarded object. That’s an art too.

I’ve been doing this for years. And now it’s like a joke in the family….before throwing away something, let’s see if Ajey wants it or can make it into something else! Well, what can I say…it’s about imagination. And the beauty of this is that there’s always a story to tell with every object created.

Now here’s another thought…we see the sky every day, right…I mean it’s right there. But how many of us actually ‘see’ the sky? Draw inspiration from it…

Have you heard about Cloud spotting? Well, Cloud enthusiasts will tell you that’s another creative form of something out of nothing. It’s when we discover various shapes and forms in clouds. This is actually a hobby and there are groups of cloud enthusiasts who gather for cloud spotting together.

There’s the cloud appreciation society who strongly believe that a blue sky, a sky without clouds would make us all poorer. Life would be dull with blue sky thinking for sure. Cloud spotting is for dreamers, for imaginative thinking, and they feed the soul. If you get a chance, hear Gavin Pretor-Pinney, the founder of the cloud appreciation society on ted talks on the value of cloud spotting. 

I love the outdoors and come to think of it, looking up to the sky, seeing the clouds and for a moment, just having my head in the clouds in contemplative, reflective, reinvigorating all at once. Try it yourself and see. And more importantly, have our children become junior cloud spotters. This is one hobby that’s calming, meditative and imaginative all at once.

My Maverick spirit continues exploring and learning new things each day. We as a family have been looking up to the skies, discovering cloud formations for a long time…without quite realizing and knowing about cloud spotting! And I’ve drawn energy and inspiration from these beautiful skies and will continue to do so. There’s nothing quite like a good hike up in the mountains, taking a pause, lying down on your back and gazing up at the skies and cloud spotting. Do it once and you’ll know what I mean when I say it’s transformative and uplifting.

Write your comments, share your feedback, I would love to hear from you. This is Ajey, signing off and wishing you have an amazing day. Keep well.