What is a piece of vicious cake?
It’s not a dangerously sweet confection. No, no, its not a chocolate covered chocolate doughnut with chocolate sprinkles and chocolate sauce. No, it's not that. It's also not something that is easy. It's not a piece of cake.
Vicious cake is something
that is sweetly dangerous.
It’s that delicious tingle
you get when you do something that is shake in your boots, heart pumping, on
the edge of the abyss scary but you do it anyway because it just. feels. right.
It’s that leap of faith you take when your everyday, comfortable self is pleading with you not to jump. You do it because that little calm voice, deep
inside you, is egging you on. Whispering. Telling you to jump, to do it against all odds
(or even against a few odds), to take that leap into action, no matter how big
or small.
Vicious cake is being a
horrible speller and making the name of your blog a difficult word.
It's sharing your
prototypes instead of waiting waiting waiting for the final “perfect”
pieces.
It’s realizing all your flaws and
funny tics and attachment to teddy bears and accepting that all these factory
flaws make you, you; so you put yourself out there to the world
Vicious cake is doing something
before you feel 100% ready, because you will never be 100% ready.
It’s creating an art project that is
risky because it’s something you truly believe in.
It’s sharing that project with
others even though it and you may be thought stupid or ignorant
because of it. It’s doing it anyways not because there will be those people who
connect with it, but because it’s YOU, and you just can’t play everything safe
anymore.
I’ve been able to revel in some
vicious cake over the past years, and it’s run the gamut of signing up for a
camping trip, rock climbing, putting a bid on a house, moving to Japan,
changing from bio-chemistry to an art degree, putting pen to paper on what I
enjoy, speaking up about what I need to family, friends and colleagues.
I'm still learning what vicious cake actually is. I don't know if I'll ever completely know, but I hope to share lots of pieces of
vicious cake here with you. I hope you share some of your own with me! Please feel
free to comment and share your own sweetly scary pieces of diving off the
diving board, saying “I love you,” adopting that dog, sharing that sweet, dark,
scary wonderfulness that is you.
BAM! First commenter! WOOOOOO!!
ReplyDeleteSeriously though, this is wonderfully written and very intriguing. It brings light onto my mind, my personality, and and the path I am exploring.
My default setting has always been to leap without looking - or not looking long enough. But in spite of a 32 year long career of missteps and falls and fails and über fails, and like seriously your shipment of fail has arrived! I've grown from it. Learned from it. Built myself up into the man I am today because of it.
Over the years I've learned where the pitfalls, stuck - out roots, and landmines of life lie. And where I enter uncharted territory, I've learned to look a little longer before stepping forward. Read up. Research. Communicate openly and honestly. Poll the audience or phone a friend. And do everything possible to ensure that the next step is safe, sensible, and doesn't contain mushrooms.
But at the end of the day, sometimes I can do all that, and still not be 100% sure of myself. And that fly by the seat of my pants gut reaction 'go for it' little voice inside is how I step forward that last couple percent. That is when amazing things really happen. That last three percent or so. That is where inspiration and love come from. That's my vicious cake.
I admire you for your bravery in putting your self - your voice - out there into the public sphere. And I look forward to reading more of your feelings and explorations into this idea.