Hi Friend
It’s been a mentally exhausting week. I’ve been crafting language with GPT for hours on end. He is such a great brainstorming partner. I don’t know how branding writers are going to stay in business. He and I can go back and forth for hours on one little section. People talk about having the right prompts. I find his responses to me are the prompts I need to find the words I’m looking for.
Something fun I got to do, was join my wife at one of her students dance recitals. It was super cool. It was a Chinese dance company and the title of the event was Ablaze with Color. It covered the five sacred elements: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal & Water, attaching a color to each. The mix of students and adults were captivating to watch! I love artistic expression like that.
Prior to going to the show Michelle indulged me by stopping at a pinball joint I hadn’t been to yet. I love pinball. It’s mesmerizing and relaxing for me. This place had a ton of options with machines in great condition. Now I have two different pinball places to visit when I need a relaxing Saturday afternoon.
I don’t know anything about Chinese culture, but I loved the sense and expression of sacredness around the five elements. When you see another person or whole people group hold something in reverence, how can it not spark curiosity? Intelligent humans have formed a belief system and structure that is the foundation for how they live their life. I’m’ fascinated.
FAITH VIEWS
I’m also a person of faith who has a belief system that shapes my world view. It impacts the decisions I make and the priorities I hold. Today is the last day of a 21 day fast I’ve been doing. Only liquids, no food. I do it annually in January. It’s a great practice of self-denial, choosing the spiritual over the physical and kicking off the new year with some clarity.
You might look at my fasting, like I look at the Chinese Five Elements. I get what they are. I have a natural appreciation for them. I’m just not sure they’re worthy of veneration. Which is why encapsulating them into an artistic expression is so compelling. If they simply carried each element in a bucket and said “Here are thousands of years of our heritage and hope” I’d lack interest.
HOLY MATTERS
Because I’m continuing to age, my interest and attention are drawn more to holy matters. Not strictly spiritual, but those things which possess a sacredness in the hearts and minds of other… and what I hold most dear. Relationships, aspirations, decisions, and values crystalize in an evolutionary way – some falling by the wayside and some gaining much more significance.
I suppose that’s why ancient wisdom is so transformational. It’s endured through the emergence and extinction of civilizations, the rise and fall of kingdoms, being exalted to being banished – the sacred persists. I want as much space in my life available for those matters. When I see others making room for it in their’s, I’m inspired and challenged – even if their sacred is not my sacred.
Instigating Ideas…
1. Share with someone something that is sacred to you.
2. Experience someone else’s Holy, that’s not yours.
3. Go see art and play pinball.
There’s something inherent in human nature to judge first, be curious second (or 5th or 10th). When we’re exposed to cultures, beliefs and the expression of both combined, it can seem strange. Our assessments are on the spectrum of “that’s ridiculously silly, why would anyone believe that?” to “That’s so horribly wrong, why would anyone believe that?” If we actually pursued the answer to those questions, we might be surprised.
BEAUTY
Art is the perfect medium for the sacred. Regardless of the beliefs themselves, when presented through beauty, we let our guard down. We may even reject the beliefs, but find our soul touched by the conduit they’re delivered through. I think that’s cool. Fear and insecurity in our own belief system, prefer us to outright reject everything that isn’t 100% aligned with ours. I think that’s small.
Man I wish I could create some form of art and beauty. Words are the only tools I’m good with. Despite GPT soon being better than me, I’m going to persist. Who knows that in all my efforts, something sacred might appear? The same is true for you.
I hope this week you find a way to express beauty, hold space for the holy and consider sincerely someone else’s sacred. That’d be a pretty great week! #SendArt