life as art

 We are an artist. We have been given certain tools to use and it is time now to create a masterpiece. We have this opportunity to work hard with what we have and eagerly seek new tools and methods for creative expression. Now is the most important time to realize that, while inspiration is key to a masterpiece, it is also the artist himself who creates his own art.

Think now of your life as art. Each choice a brush stroke, each habit a color, each response an accent. How we choose to live and what we focus our time on is what our character is formed from, and essentially who we are.

As John Paul Sartre laid out in his piece on Existentialism and Human Emotions, existence precedes essence. At first a man is without character, and it is up to him to make himself what he wills to be. “Man is nothing else but what he makes of himself.” This allows for the possibility of choice, which he was greatly ridiculed for.

Why would autonomy cause people to ridicule and entire field of study? Perhaps people do not want to choose. In choosing lies a responsibility for one’s own character. This puts the liability onto the individual. Sartre also pointed out that those people who were quick to judge his belief that each person is in the making, and not born out of a premeditated essence, would see disgraceful and repugnant acts committed and state: “it’s only human”. If we simply chalk things up to human nature than we will not question grievances or injustice, we will not question our realities or our status, nor struggle against our place in society. We will quietly accept that the masses are lost and need a “strong hand” for guidance.

This simple mindset that Sartre is in opposition to can be powerful when it is in such vast numbers as can be seen today.

Man-in-the-making is not as common as it could be. Many are susceptible to the systems in place, be it some combination of advertising, materialism, blind acceptance, persuasive religions, ignorance, or miseducation, to name a few. This may cause them to fall into this category of being pre-packaged, pre-bought, and then sold back to themselves at the price of their own freedom and power to create themselves.

Offense could be taken at such claims, but it is no lie that reality is harsh. People don’t often take the time to examine things in life and yet they still defend them. People are adamant about the things they like and need, yet do they know why? These elementary questions can reveal answers that will likely change the way one views themselves, and this can be a tough change, yet all a part of taking responsibility for your self. You are your own master, create yourself. It’s not too late.

Life is an art… you are an artist. Beautiful art is appreciated and valued and can change the lives of many people, it can inspire masses, lead to revolutions and transformations.

It is easy to forget that the subject is me. The subject is you. We are the artists, we are the art. Upon organizing these thoughts and addressing these concepts I am aware of how it is not easy in this day and time to be self-made. It takes courage and good people to support you. It takes education and openness, but also a respect of intuition. How proactive are you in being your own creator? Are you proud of the masterpiece you are creating?

Man’s mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions.

— Oliver Wendell Holmes