Whereas . . .
when a culture has sunk to a level where there is no appreciation of the fine arts – where only the crude arts, hastily presented without aesthetic subtlety, are supported;
when there is no recognition that the number of people active in the arts is a measurement of the ultimate survivability of a culture;
when the artist is largely ignored as an active, vital, and contributing member of a society;
when a country becomes hypnotized by an incessant, unremitting onslaught of marketing and advertising reminding them of their inadequacies at not making enough money to buy more stuff;
when a culture is fixated on the implicit efficacy of consumerism as the final solution to status, security, personal freedom and happiness;
when the collective goal of a people has degraded to chasing the buck to get another fix to support its habit as consumer junkies;
when you are somebody only when you have a shiny, new fast car, the biggest house, the latest toys and hot and cold running secretaries at your disposal;
when the institutions of what are laughingly called higher learning only focus on memorization without understanding, mimicry without meaning, style without substance, products without aesthetics, technique without message;
when original thought and innovative, creative individual ideas are shunned in favor of a me-too mentality;
when the rewards go to the non-producing members of a society and the active, hard-working members are left unrewarded and unnoticed;
when you see these symptoms begin to appear . . . that culture is on its way out.
Thus went Greece, Rome, England and America.
We live in a sound-bite, channel-changer world of instant gratification where all that is important is the sizzle not the steak;
where the focus is on the attainment of status and self-importance, with little attention on the pleasure of bringing ones skills up to a professional level sufficient to accomplish a final result one can be proud of;
where speed is valued over competence;
where pride in oneself or ones work is afterthought;
where communication is reduced to a bumper sticker or a headline;
where considered, complex thought is relegated to academia as outdated and useless ;
where these things are beginning to manifest, the prospects for the future can begin to look very grim.
But lets not throw in the towel just yet , , ,
In spite of everything said above, I’m not a particularly pessimistic individual – my wife even accuses me of having an irritating and irrepressibly ebullient sense of optimism about life – I generally believe that things will work out well in spite of momentary setbacks.
My viewpoint, stripped of unnecessary complexities and learned verbiage is as follows:
1. Happiness results from having and following a dream that you desire.
2. Pleasure comes from moving through the inevitable barriers and challenges along the way.
3. As long as life is in you, it is possible for you to have something to do with the nature of your future.
I think you’ll agree that the artist is the dreamer of dreams and the creator of new futures.
Now wait a minute . . . aren’t you already an artist too?
You’re still alive aren’t you? Don’t you have dreams that you desire? You create your own future don’t you?
If you just decide to start working on putting your dreams into action, where you put them, they will be.
What would a person who is already living your dream be doing right now? What actions would they be taking everyday to achieve their dreams? Take an inventory of what you’re doing right now. Then compare what you find with what someone who is already doing what you dream of doing. What you are doing right now determines your future. Wishing won’t make it happen. Hoping someone will do it for you won’t win the day. It takes active contribution and constant creation of your dreams to bring it into reality.
Find a starting point that will put you on the right path. Get advice, lessons or inspiration from others who are doing what you would like to do. Then start find a way to begin living your dream and continue in spite of everything.
You’ll have the pleasure of overcoming the obstacles that seem to have been stopping you. Realize that often the hardest step to take is the first one.
The rewards are worth it. you get to experience a level of intense sensation of personal pride and competence that others only dream about.
Just keep putting it out there. Keep creating your idea of what you would like the future to be. If you don’t put it out there, it won’t exist.
Putting your dreams into reality requires active, continuing contribution from within to be kept alive. Otherwise, those dreams wither and die.
It’s your dream; why not just keep putting it there in spite of every invitation to do otherwise?
Because, before you can say, “wha’wazdat?” the past becomes the future; and that future has a tendency to look suspiciously like what you have been creating all along.
Why not make it something desirable and worth moving into? You’ve got nothing to lose . . . and everything to gain.
daniel w. jacobs
(c) 2002-2015, all rights reserved
[...] Metaya’s Weblog wrote an interesting post today on DREAMS INTO ACTION Here’s a quick excerpt: – when there is little or no real support of the artist as a valuable, contributing member of and to the society; when you are “somebody” only when you have a new, shiny car, a big house and hot and cold running secretaries at your disposal; when you see these symptoms begin to appear, then that culture is on its way out. [...] Excellent writing!
Somehow i missed the point. Probably lost in translation
Anyway … nice blog to visit.
cheers, Basie!!!