Celebration is a State of Mind
Humans are often inclined to focus on “the bad things” instead of focusing on the good things. I know you have heard that before: “Be thankful just for being alive today!”. Well, you should! A bad attitude might make others around you wonder if they should be thankful that you are alive. Nevertheless, each day is a new opportunity to get it right. Looking back is just a way to learn to move forward and make it better.
I know you know I’m going to write about the show opening we had last night. It was AMAZING!!!!!! We had a great turned out. Some pieces found a new home. People had fun. I had a lot of fun. So many beautiful conversations. The food was amazing. I couldn’t ask for a better show. I couldn’t be more thankful. I’m really honored and thankful for all who came. Of course, I took a selfie with everyone!
After every show I celebrate the accomplishments and also take time to meditate in the results. I am thankful for everything because it helps me stay grounded. I believe in grace and the fact that I don’t deserve the blessings. Everything is useful to grow character and focus on improving each day. This the social cognitive theory principle of increasing self-efficacy beliefs. By committing to a goal individuals feel a sense of accomplishment which increases self-efficacy. Then the individual is confident to commit to another goal and continue the cycle.
Let’s focus on all the great things we have ahead of us to reach, beginning with what we have at hand today. Don’t forget to be thankful!
I’ll be updating the website with more pictures soon.
It is my hope that I can contribute the little I know to help someone reach their potential in the arts and in other learning domains. Learning to learn is an essential part of growing and developing intentional learning. It helps motivate and make the right decisions. I will continue creating a bridge between art and learning psychology by sharing what I know and what I’m learning everyday. I will continue sharing these magnificent experiences when teaching and when working on my new pieces.
The Way of the Masters?
If you study the life of the masters from the perspective of their contemporaries, you will find a commonality in many: We love the masters now, but people hated them in their time. Yes, some of them were well respected for their skills and contributions to the arts. However, their attitudes and personality were rarely well received. We talk about Leonardo, Michelangelo, Bernini, Caravaggio, and other high caliber geniuses almost as if they were gods. Historical facts reveal that very few embraced them for who they were as people. Of course, what they did was amazing. Their work would probably never be surpassed in our lifetime, but is that worth it?
Artists in our time want to live the life of the masters, the way of the masters. Their arrogance is so detestable than even the screen bleeds rubbish when they write in group discussions. They attack and criticize others and their art, but rarely show their own work. On the other hand, you would find people who measure the success of an artist based on how much they sell. I was mocked in a LinkedIn discussion by someone because I stated that my reward is the appreciation, love, hugs, kisses, and support of those who come to celebrate with me in the show. Sales are extra blessings (no lack in that area).
I watched a clip of the episode of Dr. Who where Van Gogh was brought into a museum in our time. He saw his paintings elegantly hung in a majestic room. People admiring his masterpieces while he was astonished and confused. Then he heard the curator speak marvelous things about this amazing artist. With tears in his eyes and overjoyed, Van Gogh hugged and kissed the curator and left. Beautiful scene nevertheless! But who wants to have a completely miserable life, broke and rejected to be recognized in the future by people he never knew and never knew him? Who wants, like Bernini, to be so recognized and “loved” in death when in life people hated him for his arrogance and dislikable personality? That same attitude that announced the demise of some. There is wisdom in this:
Pride goes before destruction,
And a haughty spirit before stumbling.
Proverbs 16:8
Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith – that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
Philippians 3:8-11