Humble


22

Humble



There are always dangers when the creative person begins to gain recognition for the art produced. The first danger is that the artist takes on more and more work from those who would like to have something produced. This, in turn, can easily lead to the artist losing the very thing that makes their work special, the care and attention taken to produce something different and unique. The spark goes out and the work loses its sparkle.

Lao Tzu warned that if we wish to keep moving forward and still growing in wisdom and creativity we must first learn to stop and be still. To learn how to refresh the thinking and hold onto that which gives inspiration.

There is little value in producing much if in the process it loses the very thing that attracted others in the first place.

The second danger is that of overconfidence. It is a very short leap from being sure of oneself to being boastful and proud. Again, the Tao Te Ching warns us that it is possible to continue to shine without putting on a show of display, not of our work, but of ourselves.

The constant need for recognition can steal from us the very warmth we get from others that give us the strength to persevere.

The sage says, "Yield and you will overcome."

 This may sound like a meaningless and empty saying but what the sage is saying is simply, live humbly, take time to consider and you will progress, you will become whole and accomplished in all you tackle.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Solitude.

Image
42 Solitude. "The sage takes such things and makes the most of it. Embracing his solitude." I could have made those two sentences into one by adding the little word, by. Lao Tzu on more than one occasion speaks of times of solitude, here he goes a stage further and says he embraces it as if it was a dear and precious friend. The creative person will be familiar with the thought of embracing solitude. Most creative things are accomplished after and during times of working alone. Some may find it helpful to be part of a group, working together and sharing the experience, but even those moments are just an interlude to the many hours closed away in the studio or at the workbench. The writer, sitting at the keyboard hour after hour putting words from the mind and moving them into flowing and captivating prose. It often seems that we live with a fear of solitude and silence. Some say it is the loneliness of such, but that may be too simple. We seem to be in...
Read more

Be Calm

Image
63 Be Calm   Life seems to be lived at a frantic pace, everything has to be done, and everything has to be done now. It was, not so very long ago, that the attention span of a human being was considered to be twenty minutes. Recent figures say that now the attention span of a child is down to fifteen. Teachers have now to prepare lessons keeping this in mind, changing the activity more frequently than before to allow them to hold the students' attention. In sharp contrast, Lao Tzu tells us that nothing good is achieved from rushing around. A simple statistic seems to give some support to this. When the speed limit on motorways was reduced by ten miles an hour there was almost an instant drop in the number of deaths on the roads. We gain so much more when we take life at a slower and simpler pace. How can the mind be fed and inspired by the beauty of life around us, if we are in too much of a rush to see and take it in? How can we learn from one another if we do ...
Read more

Yin - Yang.

Image
28 Yin - Yang To be truly creative the artist of either painting, music, sculpting or composing must know the strength of the male and grasp firmly to the sensitivity of the female. To know and to sense both the Yin and the Yang. It is in knowing and sensing this marvellous harmony of the universe that the creative person finds the joy of the Tao as the creative process flows and streams. Lao Tzu says when we grasp both the Yin and the Yang we become again like a child. In this state of being, we can create with real freedom. He goes on to speak of the uncarved block of wood. In the hands of the creative, living with the Tao, it can become so many wonderful and useful things.                                                                               The artist who ...
Read more