I love looking out into the world. Seeing the patterns of life play out before me. All the different streams of consciousness that comes into being. All the experiences of being human: A child and her father playing on the swings, a cat crossing the street, a dog barking at said cat, and its owner tries- rather unsuccessfully to restrain him. To look at the world without judgment, to really look at, but also see people, to take in the nuances of space, time, a laugh, a crinkle in the eye. To appreciate life in all its intricacies. All this and more I have learned from looking at the world through they eyes of an artist.

In life, we all go through it with goggles of perception. We don’t all see life through the same lens. Rather, each of us has a unique perspective that is important in the world, whether it’s our own little corner of the world, or within a framework of the larger world. It is important, however, that from time-to-time we cleanse the palette of our perception and perspective in order to look at things as they are, as many times that unique perspective can limit how we engage in the world. While, yes, on some level you may be born with this ability to look at the world differently, there is no reason why we can’t also train ourselves to look at the world in this manner.

1. Living in The Moment

Okay, so I’m a theater and film artist. So i’m speaking from that perspective. With that said, the moment is moment. We know as actor, directors, that we can’t anticipate the future and be stuck on whether the costume is making us look fat. All we can do is live on that stage, or on that film, in the moment. But what is the moment? It is as Eckhart Tolle so eloquently put it, the Now. All we have is the present moment.

2. Living with Presence

Presence is life. To fully engage with your own energy. And to activate that energy in a manner that makes you not only come alive, but also live fully. To bring the whole of yourself to every moment in your life. It’s energy, and passion, and commitment to the act of living life. Now, this is sometimes harder at certain times in our lives, but to engage fully with life, it activates it, and allows us to achieve or be anything. To believe in our own capacity of life. Presence with others, with ourselves, with our lives, and the challenges we might face- every play, and every story we watch thematically this is what we see: the full activation of the self. Now, how do we do this? Well for that we have to go to…

3. Breath

Breathing activates – to me it’s the soul- but if that’s a little woo-wooey. Perhaps we say it activates our bodies in space. It opens the body up to our presence, and essence. It expands our awareness of ourselves and our surroundings. It activates our energy so that we can show up as our full selves. It allows us to slow down our heart rate. In acting we are taught that the breath allows us more life, it connects us to our emotions and bodies in a visceral way which allows us to connect to the characters we play. In our every day lives it allows us to connect to  ourselves in a deeper way. Which leads me to my next point.

4. Connection

Connection is life. The way we connect to others, our lives and ourselves allows us deep intimacy with ourselves and the world. And while in of deep tumult and chaos we may want to disconnect from the negative feelings that arise, but it’s ultimately this same connection that will see us through the darkest moments of our lives. Think of your emotions like an ocean, some days it’s a calm sea serene, and some days there will be waves, and even storms, but eventually the skies will lighten and the sun will come out again. It is in the connection that allows us to feel safe in ourselves, with others. And it is in healing your connection that you will find a more resilient version of yourself. You deserve to have connection, especially connection to yourself. You are worthy of your own self care, and self love, and self – worship. We may not have control over others, whether we stay in connection with others is sometimes out of our realm of control, but your own self-care, self-love and connection can always be present. We can also connect to the world around us- it is the caring of the thing that matter to us the most, the causes, our animals, the plants, our neighborhoods, and friends that create a deeply intimate and connected life- no matter what it is your own little corner of the world.

These are only some of the ways that Art can teach us. I also love other lessons that other disciplines have taught me, including painting- I’m currently looking to paint the world with all the colors of the world. Always remembering that no palette has only bright colors. Music- my first love, and the one I have a fancy (?) degree in has allowed me to understand the flow of life, that the Universe speaks to us in the diatonic scale. Everything has a beat, a sound, and by connecting to sound I can release all that has been felt by my own existence, but also that of all humanity. Those are but a few of my own lessons. Can you relate, have you experienced this – what have your learned in ART, or as an artist.

I believe whole heartedly that art can teach us about life, the world, and to look at things through a new perspective. Let me know if you’ve ever explored the world through the eyes of an artist, would love to hear it.