Month: May 2018

 

What did you want to be when you were a child? Did you have any trouble answering that question when someone would ask? Did the answer change from time to time as you grew older? As our interests develop and expand, we are likely to have different aspirations. For example, when it comes time to actually make a decision, as in when you have to choose a college and a major, or when you find yourself looking for a career. Some people never fully decide on anything and just follow where life’s circumstances lead them. However, there are those who have the talent and ability to bring together a combination of occupations or activities that can sustain them financially and fulfill them emotionally. These are the fortunate ones–not to say they don’t deserve the wonderful life they’ve designed for themselves. And if they manage to pull this off in the world of the arts, they have found the Shangri-la of vocationdom, to coin a word.

I have a theory that everyone knows what they want to do. Some just haven’t thought of it yet. I firmly believe our lives have a purpose. I can’t prove it, nor can it be proven wrong. So, I’m just another guy with an opinion. For me, it’s a conviction…a knowing that I can’t unknow. But I digress. It’s a discussion for another day. The focus should remain on what we want to do with our lives. My experience with regard to having a chosen profession, one I have written in my bio and my profiles relating to my work as a writer, is that I knew with certainty I wanted to be an author at the age of six. As soon as I could write, I knew.

Wanting to do something, especially as it pertains to one’s life work, is completely different from actually making it happen. Having a craving for pizza is easily and quickly satisfied. Someone will even promptly deliver it to your door! Turning a long term dream into reality takes persistence, planning, information and a little guidance here and there. Your path is fraught with pitfalls and distractions. I became enamored with baseball, girls and popularity. I still wanted to write and I did complete some short stories in my youth, but it was so much easier to involve myself in sports, dancing and getting laughs than plotting a viable course that required follow-through in the classroom. 

But what about the vast number of human beings that don’t awaken to a dream of their life’s calling? They may grow up through 12 years of education without any subject exciting their minds to action or even ideas of future immersion in any way. I cannot accept that most children don’t find some aspects of this sparkling and shiny world worthy of their sustained active interest that develops into a way of life. Are they overstimulated into apathy by the endless sights and sounds of modern technology? Maybe for some, but the absence of realization of an occupational ideal has been happening for who knows how long–definitely longer than recent generations. Perhaps for these there should be a specific course of study aimed at discovery of that which ignites a passion for a line of work, whether it’s medicine, labor or service. Socially, many more factors than I can address here potentially complicate the matter. Rise above if you can.

I don’t care how old you are. You’ve probably heard the saying, “Today is the first day of the rest of my life.” Whether you have 80 years to go or just one more day, it behooves you to live it to the fullest. To find a fulfilling way to earn your subsistence or simply to help others moves you in that direction. Determining what will give you joy and a sense of purpose is key. I draw now from a wonderful book by Carol Adrienne, The Purpose of Your Life. I’ve isolated one small exercise that she suggests and I’m paraphrasing. As a start, look around your world and what’s in it. What do you consider most valuable and what you want to have in your life? Draw them or list them if you prefer. What do you want to let go from your life? Draw those or list them if you prefer. Write a word or a few to show what value each of those items listed represents to you. Ms. Adrienne points out that you can consciously align yourself with your values to get in touch with how to live your life with purpose. I would suggest using the same exercise to align yourself with an occupation that offers you the most fulfillment.

May your search bring you great favor which in turn benefits all with whom you work.

 

 

 

 

In recent months, I’ve been taking part in the World Religions Book Club at the church I attend in Tucson. We are studying major religions, using The World’s Religions written by Huston Smith. This is a well-written classic book that gives an informed and objective perspective on all practices concerned. I have definitely expanded my understanding of these religious studies encapsulated by Mr. Smith.

While reading the chapter on Confucianism, I learned about wen. Confucius sought to improve the Chinese social structure by providing an enhanced education with specific aspects of content. He broke those down into five categories, the last of which is wen, which refers to “the arts of peace.” These are music, art and poetry and probably others. Smith states, “Confucius valued the arts tremendously. A simple refrain once cast such a spell over him that for three months he became indifferent to what he ate. He considered people who are indifferent to art only half human. Still, it was not art for art’s sake that drew his regard. It was art’s power to transform human nature in the direction of virtue that impressed him–its power to make easy (by ennobling the heart) a regard for others that would otherwise be difficult.”

In Confucius’ words: “By poetry the mind is aroused; from music the finish is received. The odes stimulate the mind. They induce self-contemplation. They teach the art of sensibility. They help to restrain resentment. They bring home the duty of serving one’s parents and one’s prince.”

Confucius was strong on tradition, honoring the elders and the rulers, as long as they did their part in honoring the juniors and the subjects. His concept of wen extended into the political realm, pointing out that ultimately success of a regime is with that which develops the highest wen, or as Smith puts it, “the most exalted culture–the state that has the finest art, the noblest philosophy, the grandest poetry, and gives evidence of realizing that ‘it is the moral character of a neighborhood that constitutes its excellence.’ ” He goes on to say that Chinese culture was so impressive and all-encompassing that even when outside invaders conquered the country, the culture absorbed them rather than being ripped apart and changed. Kublai Khan was the prime example of this phenomena, conquering all of China with his Mongols while having only a superficial influence on the culture.

So, how does wen apply to our world today? Do the values of Confucius show up in the arts over 2500 years later? One example of this was found in a 2016 painting exhibition, titled Origins of Great Beauty. Per an article on China Daily by Lin Qi, it “shows how artists today infuse elements of Confucianism and Taoism into their ink works.

“The show, which is being held at Beijing’s Museum of the Confucius Temple and the Imperial Academy (Guozijian) through Dec 13, displays some 100 figure paintings, landscapes and flower-and-bird works of the three contemporary Chinese painters Yuan Wu, Cao Wu and Xia Tiaxing.

“Qin Dailun, the exhibition’s curator from the Chinese National Museum of Ethnology, says while Yuan has adopted a realistic approach to enrich the expressiveness of traditional figure painting, Cao’s flower-and-bird works show his concern for ecological changes, and Xia’s mountain-and-water paintings reflect the humanistic spirit of ancient painters.”

 

Confucius was a teacher and, of course, a philosopher. He lived during a time when Chinese rulers had resorted to force against their subjects and others who might resist them. He wanted to return society to a respect for tradition while incorporating it into a living part of culture. He introduced and promoted the concept of coming to understand one’s value through contribution to the society and the country in which one lives. He stressed harmony of society and designed a moral code to make this a reality. Note the contrast between that ideal and that of our western culture in which there is so much validation for individual success with secondary regard for altruistic goals. That isn’t to say that Confucian principles didn’t have any influence on our civilization, as this new form of thought and manual for living were carried westward from country to country for centuries.

To accomplish wen is to gain the ability to communicate fully and powerfully. Though no work of art may illustrate this perfectly, following is a poem I think was written by Ching An in the 20th century. Characteristically succinct, this verse puts its loving arms around what it intends to say.

Night Sitting

The hermit doesn’t sleep at night:
in love with the blue of the vacant moon
The cool of the breeze
that rustles the trees
rustles him too.