“To defy the laws of tradition. It’s a crusade only of the brave.” – Les Claypool, Primus
What does it mean to be brave? What are traditions? What are the laws of tradition? What is a crusade? How does one defy the laws of tradition? These are the questions running through my head when I read the opening quote. I guess to answer those questions literally I have to break each word down and define them. Not on my own, of course, there are dictionaries for that. Let me take them in the order they appear in the quote from this fine Primus song…
Defy – verb
1: to confront with assured power of resistance
2: to resist attempts at
3: to challenge to do something considered impossible
Law – noun
1: a binding custom or practice of a community: a rule of conduct or action prescribed or formally recognized as binding or enforced by a controlling authority
Tradition – noun
1a: an inherited, established, or customary pattern of thought, action, or behavior
1b: a belief or story or a body of beliefs or stories relating to the past that are commonly accepted as historical though not verifiable
Crusade – noun
1: a remedial enterprise undertaken with zeal and enthusiasm
Brave – noun
1: one with mental or moral strength to face danger, fear, or difficulty: one who is brave
Brave – adjective
1: having or showing mental or moral strength to face danger, fear, or difficulty: having or showing courage
Great. Now that I know what all these words mean let me attempt to answer the questions being spun by the squirrels in my head.
What does it mean to be brave?
The dictionary defines it pretty well but I like simplicity so I will say it means to be courageous.
What are traditions?
Again, the definition above is pretty clear I will just add for the context of this article, a standard way or method of doing things.
What are the laws of tradition?
I will interpret this as the rules or guidelines that govern an inherited, established, or customary pattern of thought, action, or behavior as commonly accepted by a group or body of people.
What is a crusade?
For simplicity, let’s just call it a passionate mission.
Now, what does this have to do with anything and why am I thinking about it? Besides that fact that I am gearing up to see Primus tomorrow for the first time in years, I have been thinking a lot about the what, how, and why I cook, bake, and create as of late. The business is in transition right now. We are getting ready to expand into a production kitchen and we have been experimenting with a variety of desserts to create a menu for the new kitchen.
During this process it came to me that I like to take traditional desserts or dishes and put my own twist on them. Not always just minor twists. Some are reconstructing the entire recipe, essentially making a new and different recipe all together.
I don’t do this to be unique or different, necessarily. Oftentimes I simply do this out of laziness. I don’t want to have to keep looking at a recipe. That involves getting the recipe and continuing to reference it while I am cooking. That just breaks up my flow and continuity. I would much rather commit it to memory or create my own version that I memorize. He latter is the result of the rebellious side of me that wants to do things my way and defy the laws of tradition.
This has been a theme throughout my life and is just part of my nature and the way in which I am wired. Sometimes it works out and other times it completely backfires. At the end of the day it is much more exciting to me and nourishing for my soul to create. Whether it’s a recipe, a blog post, a logo, or anything in between I am much happier living in the creative space. It is often about the creative process rather than the finished product.
Stay tuned as I go through my start up and life escapades answering what it means to defy the laws of tradition. I bet you thought I forgot about that last question and was just rambling on and on talking “the balls off a rhinosaurus” didn’t you? Call me bizarre…see you next time.
Psst! I wrap up the End series in a few weeks. We are getting close to finalizing a deal.
Talk Soon,
Kevin W @LEAP272
Owner-Operator
You have to leap if you want to live
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