Beyond what...?
well, beyond disbelieves, beyond poor judgments, beyond unriching repetition and all that we do because that's we were taught to think that way.
"The entire
purpose of society is to create a bulwark against the inner and the outer chaos, in order to
make life bearable and to keep the human race alive. And it is absolutely inevitable that
when a tradition has been evolved, whatever the tradition is, the people, in general, will
suppose it to have existed from before the beginning of time and will be most unwilling
and indeed unable to conceive of any changes in it. They do not know how they will live
without those traditions that have given them their identity. Their reaction, when it is
suggested that they can or that they must, is panic. And we see this panic, I think,
everywhere in the world today, from the streets of New Orleans to the grisly battleground
of Algeria. And a higher level of consciousness among the people is the only hope we
have, now or in the future, of minimizing human damage."
_
James Baldwin
We act as if we're small but at the same we think everything is too huge.
_
James Baldwin
We act as if we're small but at the same we think everything is too huge.
Where does that leave/leads us?
Too small too make a difference, too big to care?
But there are some "things" that can actually take us beyond these existential doubts. Despite the frustration, even sadness, of feeling disconnected with what happens with the world, be it because we're too weary of seeing the same news, the same wars, hearing the same lies and twitched truths, sometimes we're surprised with the aesthetic fruition of a song, sound, detail, sensation.
It's my belief, and empirical experience, that Art can open our eyes and show us in clearer ways what Love feels like or what Hate looks like.
We know what Love feels like, right? Sweet tears and a smile so deep that each breath seems to hold all the honeyed spring fragrants of the Universe. A song that is felt like a soft feather slowly traveling your skin. Nature erupting in new births and spontaneous celebrations.
We also know what sadness and envy feels like. Green eyed monster...
But we choose. We choose our path.
Do we really?
What if you don't know what freedom feels like?
What if you believe you deserve pain?
What if your guilt or shame blurs all that you can be?
well, can we go beyond?
... yes.
We can teach ourselves humbleness.
We don't know much about this world, and what we know is incomplete.
We can teach ourselves humbleness.
That simple decision will open your Heart and as said by that beautiful little prince, "What is essential is invisible to the eye". Our Heart "sees" further deeper into the nature of things and people. It can see the divine in others and from that place we can start believing again in forgiveness, in hope, in peace.
Art can work like a window that we open to get some fresh air. Open your mind.
"The artist is distinguished from all other responsible actors in society—the politicians, legislators, educators, and scientists—by the fact that he is his own test tube, his own laboratory, working according to very rigorous rules, however unstated these may be, and cannot allow any consideration to supersede his responsibility to reveal all that he can possibly discover concerning the mystery of the human being. (...) if we understood ourselves better, we would damage ourselves less. But the barrier between oneself and one’s knowledge of oneself is high indeed. There are so many things one would rather not know! (...) to become a social human being one modifies and suppresses
Too small too make a difference, too big to care?
But there are some "things" that can actually take us beyond these existential doubts. Despite the frustration, even sadness, of feeling disconnected with what happens with the world, be it because we're too weary of seeing the same news, the same wars, hearing the same lies and twitched truths, sometimes we're surprised with the aesthetic fruition of a song, sound, detail, sensation.
It's my belief, and empirical experience, that Art can open our eyes and show us in clearer ways what Love feels like or what Hate looks like.
We know what Love feels like, right? Sweet tears and a smile so deep that each breath seems to hold all the honeyed spring fragrants of the Universe. A song that is felt like a soft feather slowly traveling your skin. Nature erupting in new births and spontaneous celebrations.
We also know what sadness and envy feels like. Green eyed monster...
But we choose. We choose our path.
Do we really?
What if you don't know what freedom feels like?
What if you believe you deserve pain?
What if your guilt or shame blurs all that you can be?
well, can we go beyond?
... yes.
We can teach ourselves humbleness.
We don't know much about this world, and what we know is incomplete.
We can teach ourselves humbleness.
That simple decision will open your Heart and as said by that beautiful little prince, "What is essential is invisible to the eye". Our Heart "sees" further deeper into the nature of things and people. It can see the divine in others and from that place we can start believing again in forgiveness, in hope, in peace.
Art can work like a window that we open to get some fresh air. Open your mind.
"The artist is distinguished from all other responsible actors in society—the politicians, legislators, educators, and scientists—by the fact that he is his own test tube, his own laboratory, working according to very rigorous rules, however unstated these may be, and cannot allow any consideration to supersede his responsibility to reveal all that he can possibly discover concerning the mystery of the human being. (...) if we understood ourselves better, we would damage ourselves less. But the barrier between oneself and one’s knowledge of oneself is high indeed. There are so many things one would rather not know! (...) to become a social human being one modifies and suppresses
and, ultimately, without great courage, lies to oneself about all one’s interior, uncharted
chaos."
_
James Baldwin
_
James Baldwin
What we think is what we become, please repeat that to yourself when you choose that same old path of blaming and criticizing. Remember, what you think is what you become. To paraphrase Kierkegaard, Life is best understood backward but must be experienced forward, so right now, right where you are, you're in the present moment creating your story. How do you want to frame it to tell it one day? Go beyond the facts you "know". Be humble and let imagination open your mind/heart. Go beyond.
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