Art, Lent(?), and Innovation
Posted by Plish on February 24, 2013
“Art, after all, is about rearranging us, creating surprising juxtapositions, emotional openings, startling presences, flight paths to the eternal.” - from The Art of Possibility by Benjamin, and Rosamund Stone, Zander.
A friend of mine read the above quote and said, “Sounds like the purpose of Lenten Services.”
Brilliant!
She juxtaposed art and spirituality in a wonderful manner.
I’m taking it one step further.
The purpose of being rearranged is so that people can improve their relationships with each other, with the Eternal and with themselves.
So, if we become open and have flight paths to the eternal, are emotionally vulnerable, become aware of others and their needs, what types innovations would we bring into the world?
“Every good painter paints what he is.” -Jackson Pollock
I would say that every person creates from what she is. If we become rearranged as mentioned above, our creations naturally reflect that which we are realizing in our lives.
Try this thought experiment:
What would a doctor’s office look like if it were designed by the Dalai Lama? How would people be treated? What would waiting rooms look like? Would people feel more nervous or less than they do now? What would it sound like? What would the air taste like?
Every good painter paints what he is.
And that’s the key. Whether in art or spirituality (and many would say there is no dichotomy in art/spirituality) we have to be willing to be rearranged. If we aren’t willing to be open to going in new directions, to explore, to feel the discomfort of stepping off precipices and trusting we will fly, then we won’t be rearranged, and not only will we not be elevated from glory to glory, but the world will not experience light which only we can share.
So what does that mean?
Listen to music…go to the theater…meditate…pray…taste fruit you just picked off a tree and write a haiku of the experience…sculpt…sing a song…
…Paint the world with what you are…Show the world that being rearranged isn’t a singular exercise in destruction, but an empowering act of creation…
Think of what the world would be if each person lived as a surprising juxtaposition, an emotional opening, a startling presence, a flight path to the eternal…
…Start becoming rearranged…
…now…
