If you have ever used a charcoal grill you know exactly what I am referring to… I grilled out tonight, first time in too long. I can still smell the smoke. My eyes are so dry that I do not want to sit at my desk and stare at this bright screen and write this post.

I like to grill. But I do not grill very often.

I would say that I maybe have grilled out 3 times over the past 6 months, dating back to when I got hurt. Now there was a stretch there were I couldn’t actually grill because I couldn’t turn my right wrist over. But that hasn’t been the case for several months.

It is so funny how there are things that I like to do that I just don’t do. It absolutely makes no sense. It is like when you fall out of the rhythm of doing them that it requires too much energy to start it up again.

I mean the fact that I haven’t grilled out in forever definitely showed. I could not get the charcoal going. I even used my charcoal chimney (not sure if that is what you call it). Still, nada. I put way too much newspaper in the bottom of it so it couldn’t breathe and the fire went out; several times.

I finally got it going and it was really starting to smoke… so I did what anyone would do… I poured it out too soon because I was impatient. So instead of waiting five more minutes to let the coals get white hot… I dumped it and then spent the next 20 minutes trying to get them going using strategic coal placement.

2 hours later and the food is done and we have a lovely dinner. The food was great and filled with that charcoal flavor that you just can’t get with gas. That charcoal smell that is still stuck in my beard, lol.

One benefit of spending two hours grilling is that I had some time to kill. I grabbed a bluetooth speaker and one of my cameras and literally took pictures of the fire and then just random stuff in the backyard.

This is the practice of the normal life photographer (not to be confused with wildlife). I wasn’t in an epic location with professional models or sports cars. It was not someone’s birthday or a holiday. It was just a normal Sunday. Life is nothing but a sequence of normal Sundays (every 7th day, you get the metaphor).

The photos are importing into Lightroom now…

There were even a few on there from earlier in the week too. Exactly 4 photos that I liked out of 32. That is a pretty standard ratio.

Here are those photos:

• Knife with cameras in the background
• Random photo of my notebook with my notes from my conversation with my former boss. We talked about that a few days ago.
• Moody charcoal photo
• More moody charcoal photo

Yes, these will be available for print orders under the Normal Sunday collection.

You might be wondering why I am telling you all of this…

It is a subtle reminder to find ways to incorporate the things you love to do into your everyday life. There will never be perfect circumstances. The sea will not part revealing ideal conditions for you to create your art. More likely, you will be bailing the boat with one hand and trying to work on your craft with the other.

And, there is nothing wrong with that.

Do not be ashamed of fumbling through a cooking recipe, throwing up an unedited blog post, posting pictures you took of charcoal or quickly sketching a picture while you wait for your kids in the pick-up line.

The key is not to try to get away from your life so you can work on your craft. That is a really good way to resent everything that keeps you from your passion. Trust me, I went down that path. It is dark and lonely. It took me years and a lot of books and therapy to figure that out.

Instead, try to incorporate your passion into your life. Do what you love with the people you love and in service of those you care about. You never know, you might just inspire them. They will certainly inspire you.

I know this to be true. My favorite podcast is my interview with Aiden and my camera guy is a 7 year old. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Create your art.

– Nate