“Great knowledge sees all in one. Small knowledge breaks down into the many.” — Chuang Tzu
I remember this great moment from Steve Martin’s brilliantly written fantasty romance-comedy L.A. Story. It was the last scene of the movie, the hero has defeated all the odds, won the heart of the woman he loves and has found true happiness. Talking to the magical freeway sign which has aided him, Harris K. Telemacher (Steven Martin) asks out loud “How did this all happen?” It responds “Remember. There are more things in heaven and earth Harris than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”
Such is also the message here, in this seemingly insignificant little blog about creative living. We truly know so little about the universe. But we do know that it’s only with astute awareness and a full heart that we might engage with this world in any significant way — a way which might bring about some meaning and joy to our relatively short lives. It’s also about the multitude of things that we do and the attention we give them. Ultimately, it’s about seeing the big picture — engaging with those early questions about life that we once had as children but have lost sight of as we grow older, for we’ve all been too caught up pursuing quite arbitrary things such as superficial goals and unnecessary possessions chasing efficiency while living day to day in constant physical and psychological conflict, rushing to the end while fearing it at the same time. To parallel the thoughts of writer/philosopher Albert Camus, it all seems awfully absurd. But there is a way to preempt that, and stopping to look at the big picture forces us to wake up and re-assess. Because by pausing to reflect and actually see, we enable ourselves to be reborn.
Here are some small thoughts with a bigger world in mind:
Know what you’re doing and don’t just do things because you “should”. Be suspicious of where you’ve gotten the “should” from.
Build knowledge and build skill but always be aware of its limitations.
Be prepared. If you know what you’ve got to do, do the prep work, otherwise struggle and chaos will dominate as you will have no order in your process.
Have a vision of at least 80% as to what you want and where you’re heading. let the remaining 20% be decided by the universe.
Exploration and innovation are not business buzzwords, the heart of them lies within the individual and the search for something personal, exciting and new.
If you’re doing visual art, make your plans visual. Put things on paper for ideas in the mind are easily muddied and have a short life span.
Know what real authority is — the word comes from the root meaning “to author” or “to authenticate” — true authority is measured by true capacity (skill, knowledge, experience and originality) not title or position.
It takes real intelligence to be humble and loving. As Robert Henri said ” A man cannot be honest unless he is wise.”
If you want to understand the whole, look at the relationship of things. This is true with art and life.
The highest skill of an artist is composition — seeing the whole movement of things.
If we don’t ask the ethical questions, we’ve lost sight of being human. Any excellence outside of our morality becames a danger to it.
Seeing the whole applies also to the individual self; mind, heart and body need to be healthy and in harmony. Remember to sharpen the saw.
When in doubt, lead with your heart (or that right hemisphere of your brain) not your egoic (left-hemispheric) mind.
You’ll know you’re making the better choice when it seems like no choice at all. Freedom doesn’t come from having a bevy of options but rather the clarity to act and do as one must.
Relate the small things in your art to the big things, only then will they become significant.
If you’re loaded with fear or anxiety, beware of your desires for they are two sides of the same coin.
Order comes before discipline, not the other way around. And all order must originate from within. Externally imposed order is no order at all but disorder and violence.
Develop an unusual level of thinking about things; be your own light. Don’t just follow tradition or trends. Be truly responsible (or response-able).
LIke a good archer, practice hard and aim for the target, but have no expectations of any desireable result. Be free from such burdens, only then will your arrow fly straight and far.
Know that if you’ve got no energy, you won’t be able to see right. And not seeing right, you’ll do wrong.
To “live each day like it is your last” is not mere platitudinousness — it prioritizes rightly all your actions.
The bigger you see, the calmer and wiser you’ll be. Life’s actions will naturally become more choiceless and stress-free.
“Demand not that things happen as you wish, but wish them to happen as they do, and you will go on well.” — Epictetus