Counsel no 6 : jump
You are competent and constantly on the road to the acquisition of new abilities. You have made several lists, mental or written, of these abilities, objectives and things to do … but something isn’t right. What is blocking you? What are the artist’s sins? Take your choice: laziness (putting off until tomorrow), pride (need for complete control, the anxiety of the perfectionist), envy (the practices of others seem much better than our own) etc.
What are the obstacles that prevent us from doing what needs to be done: entering into the studio, getting organized, preparing an exhibit, collaborating on a project, writing one’s artistic process? What are our toxic habits and chronic excuses? What are the comfort zones that hold us back?
Paradoxically, giving oneself time, silence, space for reflection, all contribute to recharging the power needed to move to action. A paradox is an apparent contradiction behind which wisdom hides. Although it takes a minimum of energy to enter into the present moment and act: to make a jump, the best “charge” remains inspiration. When we are inspired, everything falls into place with the blink of an eye. It takes a dash of audacity and we get instantly rewarded, we enter into the flow. A state approaching trance, where one alternates between periods of action and contemplation, practically without effort, as long as our spirit and body are not fighting one another, in a miraculous cohesion and economy of energy. This kind of action takes little and gives a lot. It is a state of grace that approaches a mystical state experienced by ecclesiasts of the Middle Ages, and to which we all have access.
This said, human nature inevitably draws us downward. Its weapons are our old habits and favourite excuses: “I’m too tired – I’ll do it later- when I have the help of XYZ it will be better - I haven’t made a choice yet - blah, blah, blah.” When we hear things like this, we can recognize our mental detractor, the great saboteur inside our head. He is always there watching for our moments of weakness to remind us that we are not soaring, that there are many better than we, that we will fall and fail, that none of this will amount to anything. We must recognize this, but turn a blind eye, since the detractor never offers anything worthy. We must bide our time, remain vigilant, because he is powerful and relentless in its ability to sabotage our efforts. Its charm, like that of a siren, is very real. It is the power of our dark side; the shadow that nourishes our self-destructive tendencies.
In choosing nothing, everything remains possible. The universe of possibilities corresponds to the night, to the imagination, a prelude to that which may see the light of day, a germination, an attempt, a gestation. In not making a choice, we take no risk. Everything remains in the perfection of the idea or concept. Only it doesn’t correspond to anything real. From the shadow, we must emerge into the daylight, into the realm of the real and the imperfect. One must implicate oneself at least a little into the doing, the action. It is useful to visualize, to consider options, to evaluate, to even equivocate, taking into account strategies, potentialities, in as much as it contributes to preparing us to act, for our own well-being, our own self-interest. In as much as we act, we must take the leap. Be prepared to jump; that is the goal of our preparation and evaluation - dreaming of being an artist is not being an artist.
Finally, our sole power is in that of our choices. Each time, we’ve got only one shot; if it’s not good, we can hope to do better next time. The road we’re on is always the right one. To not play, that is the ultimate failure; it is the proof that fear has won. We are paralysed, as if asleep, suspended at the crossroads, incapable of choosing a direction and advancing.
Waiting for someone else to appear and fix everything, whether an agent, gallerist, or well-heeled patron of the arts who would discover us, take us under his or her wing and look after everything, instead of doing things ourselves ; this dream, this El Dorado is an aberration for the artist. It is what impedes us from self-realisation, from taking responsibility, from assuming our own reality, from getting ourselves wet, from accomplishing, from becoming, from our meeting with destiny. The destiny of the artist is to make art, to make these offering to the world, to one’s peers, to show others our sensibilities, in order to bring more compassion to the world. It is to offer a mirror, for the world to see itself in a different way, so that it may open unto itself. Thanks to the artist, society can see its reflection in the glass. That ain’t nothing!
We must understand that the artist as no (other) value, nothing useful on a purely cartesian sense. The artist is there to elevate us (society), to teach us to be have more sensibility, more compassion. This ultimate gift of being able to vehiculate grace to a large public is priceless. It is a miracle renewed every time we jump into action. Now get back to work!
This counsel has been inspired by several sources in these past weeks:
- the book “Défier la gravité” by Caroline Myss, 2010
- the book “Transformer la fatalité en destinée” de Roberto Ohotto, 2010
- the interview “Anne Dorval, la tragédienne” by Sebastien Diaz for Voir, of Télé-Québec (http://video.telequebec.tv/video/6099/anne-dorval-la-tragedienne)
- the movie “Mr. Nobody”, written and directed by Jaco Van Dormael (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0485947/)
- my interview with Marc Séguin, especially the passage “faire l’art que l’on peut”
- a video with Alan Moore, interviewed by LJ Pindling of Street Law Productions. Final part 27 June 2008 in Spring Boroughs, Northampton, England, shared on Facebook by Scott Ferry, a Montreal-based artist
- a video by Gwen Stefani “What You Waiting For?” 2004 Interscope Records