Who do we as a society or who do you hold in higher regard, Mahatma Ghandi who changed the world without a penny in his pocket or Donald Trump who has changed the world with all the pennies in his pocket. One man lived selflessly and the other greediously.
The greatest gift an Artist can give is the inspiration of an utopian nature. Selfless giving gets a greater reward from society. Greedious attitudes only give temporary results and satisfaction, so Mr. Trump will be a footnote in history as the Medici family is a footnote to the life of Michael Angelo. An Artist can never leave the world behind, he or she must always bring the world forward with him or her. Such is the saying in the military, never leave a soldier behind. You may notice the attitude in America toward teaching Artists (those in the univeristy system, public/private schools, giving workshops) is far more positive than that given to those Artists who do not give back. We tend and should tend toward lifting up those who give back the gift of vision and enlightenment.
The problem with procrastination is that most people spend their lives romanticizing these concepts of unconditional agopic love and never actually put into action the selfless act of loving another human being. Religions, (transcendentalists, Buhdhists, Christians, Hindus) all point to this circle of giving love to receive love. That is Karma. Yes we must be careful with selflessness, as it opens our souls up to be drained of our love. Least we judge first though. Do not create conclusions about someone until you have given. See the fruit of your seed. Yes, it will grow. But be patient, as for some do not seek water, soil and light.
As in the yin and yang yes the evil must exist to help us understand the good. And the evil of resistance does exist in all of us. But as we meet those who have overcome, we began to understand that contentedness in resistance leads to contemptedness in our soul. As we remove the resistance like an old torn coat, we then become ready to help those who are weighed down by theirs.
As in relationships, couples walk a tight wire act. It is an effort from both that makes for the balance . . . just with the yin and yang. So, for balance to exist, yes we must accept that resistance will raise its ugly head from time to time. However, our expanding understanding of how to tackle the legs of resistance to keep it from moving any further will ultimately keep the balance.
I as an Artist find so much irony between how I apply the principles of organization to my work and to my life. Truely, these rules are like the ten commandments and guide us as we design our present and future toward completing the circle of love, toward being selfless, toward caring enough to bring everyone else along. Davinci, George Washington Carver .. . . . and many many more great leaders didn't leave the world behind. They shared themselves selflessly. You know I often defend Art's purpose in our schools with a quote I once heard from George Lucas. He said that Art gives purpose to the other subjects such as Science and Math. It is the Artists that lead the world with their imaginations that give progress a push and nudge technology. Growing up during this developing internet era and watching how Artists have paved the way for software has amazed me and given me reassurance that it is an Artist's life to push, pull, tear down, build up all things with the intent of moving the world toward a better place. Maybe Maslow had it wrong with his heirachy of needs. I kind of think that the greater good of all should be our number one goal. Taking care of everyone allows everyone to take care of you - i.e. utopian thinking. So what that Ben Franklin said that if utopia could have existed it would have already. Ben Gufford says, yes humans aren't perfect but that doesn't mean we have to stop trying to reach perfection. That is what an Artist does.
Posts
