Becoming an Artist

What does it mean to be an artist? The older I get, the more I feel that it isn’t something special only a few are born with. There is a simple recipe for seeing deeply. On the outside you must be still and calm. On the inside you must be keyed for action. Observe how open you can be to what is right in front of you. And then of course, what is inside of you? It’s a question of laying aside your notions of what should be, to notice what is. Aside from gaining the skills necessary to hit your mark, this attention IS the job.

To be an artist (hunter/forager/poet/etc) in our modern society requires an illogical amount of devotion. For if you want to do the thing properly, you have to live in the moment. You have to allow yourself to be a bit feral, while maintaining a warmth of spirit that borders on the rebellious in such an age of cynicism.

I was born a dreamer, but not an artist. To be an artist entails a conscious choice to remain at the doorway, at the edge of the Known. We stand poised for a glimpse of Truth, knowing that the only way to share it is to give it a new veil. Hoping that our offering is worthy of sparking something in another.

What do you see today, when you stand very still?