Art and It's Place in Our Culture

I'm going to wax philosophical today; simply because I feel like life is making me really contemplate this stuff. I just finished reading the wonderful book entitled "The War of Art," written by Steven Pressfield. It's a great way to self reflect and begin to understand the creative individual, whether that be yourself or someone else. Essentially, it's a great book to get you off your butt and in to action. To stop procrastinating and do what you were meant to do.

I have to admit that I inherently like books like this because I, for some reason, I occasionally need self validation with my endeavors in the arts. Anymore, it's so uncommon to meet other individuals that are completely consumed with their artistic work. To find a full time musician/artist/writer that isn't living in New York, Nashville, or LA is uncommon, if not challenging to find. Most musicians and artists that I know have to supplement their artistic side with a day job or side gigs that help pay the bills. I'm this way as well. It doesn't mean that I lose focus or put music/writing/art on the back burner, it just means that I have health benefits and a pay check that affords food on the table and a roof over my head.

Getting back to the topic at hand: finding our true calling is what I'm encouraging all of us humans to do. What if everyone that we encountered in our life was doing what they were meant to do? Would people be happier? Would we all get along? Would the world be a better place? Would we have wars? Tough questions to answer, but I think overall, people would be happier and more fulfilled. I don't think we would have a culture that values monetary things, material wants, and plastic surgery. We would value things like: how great our meal was, or how wonderful an art show happened to be, or how we can't wait to play music with our friends, etc. Not saying that we can't value that stuff now and really make them priorities, but somehow it's easy to lose sight of that stuff when we have other distractions.

Looking within ourselves and being completely honest with ourselves about what our strengths are and our true God-given talents can be an awakening. You may already know what yours is, but if not, I highly recommend and encourage you to do so. It's not always easy to take this path, but it's extremely rewarding. Finding a way to make a living doing what you love will bring you so much fullfilment in the long run, and life is all about the long run. Who wants to be happy when they are 62 and can finally enjoy life after putting the good years behind them? Do it now!

Have a great week!