The only proper use of a lighter

Art Burshy had bought quite some time ago a very cool lighter...
He did not really smoke, but I guess everyone recognises these moments when you walk around, when you see something and somehow you just NEED to have it.
Afterwards he had felt quite silly and the lighter had ended up somewhere in a drawer.

What is that feeling...?
- eating when you are not hungry but can not resist the temptation
- drinking with friends when you had told yourself before not to drink
- tempted to kiss someone but knowing it can never work

Art could come up with several reasons:
- we are like crows; when they see shining objects they just need to get them; its is like a deeper urge.
- evil has a pulls on us; a bit like religions often portray temptation of evil and the devil trying to allure you.
- we are compensating for being broken; when we are not happy we tend to loose ourselves in temptations like eating, drinking, shopping...

Or is it just our ego that is always there, driving us to possess objects and even people and just waits for a weaker moment. And then when we least expect it it actually takes over. And while justifying our selves it goes out of control:
- I worked so hard, I deserve some beers...
- I worked my life long, and now I am the boss so I have the right to...
- I will get money soon so I should be able to buy that phone
And by itself this reasoning is true, so that's not the point.
It is just a bit more of a problem when it comes just before diving in too deep; drinking way too much...again....or... buying yourself 'useless' stuff into bankruptcy...or...

Well, Art had made such mistakes over and over again, but recently he had been more resistant to such temptations... he was just so happy with his life, his wife, his kids, work and art...

And when he this time was looking to light the candles for a romantic dinner at home... he found the lighter and had top smile... this was actually the only legitimate use of a lighter, wasn't it?

How much is enough

Art Burshy went away for a quick weekend to a more tropical location... he needed to recharge the batteries.
This rainy and windy autumn weather is okay for some days, even for some weeks...but after some time Art just needs some sun on his skin.
So he told his family he needed a weekend off...not because he doesn't want to be with them, not because they do not give him energy.
Art loves his wife and kids, and he loves his art, and he loves his work as a manager.
But one should always manage your energy levels; if you have no energy everything becomes more heavy and even the funniest and interesting things become a burden.
And Art also noticed that when you go low on energy and continue energy-spending stuff, it actually takes much longer to regain energy. So he had promised himself never to go beyond that zero-level.

So Art picked a weekend, and his wife picked the weekend after...because she needed it too...
When arriving he went to drop his stuff at the hotel, and ran straight to the beach...
Of course he smeared his skin with oil, and then he could feel the sun touch his skin...he could almost sense the vitamin D flowing from his skin into his body... and he fell in a deep deep sleep.

He woke up, felt really rested and his skin was glowing... and when he looked he saw he had some radiating skin...cadmium orange covering some deep red...
He smiled... sure this would be bloody painful, and he should not have gone so far...but sometimes you just have to dive in head first and accept the consequences...
He knew now that his skin would remind him the whole week of this weekend...so he picked up his towel, pencils and iPad and walked to the nearest  terrace where he ordered a lovely glass of Chablis...

He knew that tomorrow when going back home he would really miss his wife and kids, dying to give them a hug... and Monday he probably would feel like working again...ready for giving and sharing energy for a few more months...

Rules are rules

Art Burshy walked today by a man cleaning the walls from graffiti.
Initially he just wanted to walk by...after all - there is so much rubbish being sprayed on the walls.
And Art knows the guy is just doing his job...cleaning walls...
But then he noticed that the man was actually removing quite a nice work of street art...

Sure the art work was not a Banksy, but would the guy actually know?
Would he really just be focused on the narrow tasks to 'clean the walls'
What if he would encounter a Banksy, would he be tempted to actually reflect on what he was doing.

Art Burshy himself also made some street art now and then.
And although he understood when the art work would be taken away, it is never a thrill.
One could even argue whether nice street art actually was a guerrilla way of making cities less dull, colourless, square and monotonous.
Shouldn't it be possible to deviate from the rule? Okay to clean walls, but a good street art work is actually nice to keep.

This is like in business:
- it is good to define rules and ensure they are respected
- but there should be consideration for the exceptional, no?

Art remembers that when he first managed his teams he actually did not pay attention to people being late that much. Well, it happens to all of us that we miss a train or have to deal with family situations.
Then some people started to complain, that some others were always late.
So, what do you do.
Sure, everybody should be on time; but should that rule be the same for all.
Is productivity not more important than presence?

From this time Art has kept 2 expressions alive.

1. I understand everything, but not everything can be tolerated in the interest of the team
You should be flexible and have people as much as possible work in a way that is optimal for them.
If you force them in another structure chances are that you reduce their productivity and contribution.
At the same time, when it stands in the wau\y of the teamwork you should not shy away from intervening.

2. Unequal monks, unequal hoods...
This is a weird one.
It comes from the old Dutch saying: 'equal monks, equal hoods' ('gelijke monniken, gelijke kappen')
It normally intends to say that all people should be treated equal.
Then one colleague (Martin) of Art once said the opposite: 'unequal monks, unequal hoods'
Initially Art had been surprised, but when he thought about it it made more and more sense.

Don't people who work very hard and late have more rights than people that just fill their hours?
If someone just worked late last night, should Art be reprimanding him if he is 10 minutes late next morning?

This does not mean that Art feels people should not be treated equally.

And the same for art works and artists.
Great art works, even when put on a wall outside should be kept, maybe even framed.
Where shitty tags or poor efforts should be punished.
Sure, Art had not yet figured out how to implement this in law or procedures, but there should be some talented politician that could solve that...
Because in the end even Art Burshy knows that a Banksy is not an ArtBurshy...