“Let me know anything I can do to help” is a generous and thoughtful offer.
Even more thoughtful, generous and artistic…
“I noticed that you could use help in this way. Here are some suggestions to make it better. Let me know if you agree and I’ll implement these right away.”
“Meditate for an hour every day unless you are too busy. In that case meditate for two hours.” -Zen Proverb
Jut when we think we’ve fully heard someone out, that we “get it now”, that we’re ready to solve things, move forward, is the moment to remind ourselves that we’re not ready.
We have some more work to do.
More listening.
“The greatest challenge of the day is: how to bring about a revolution of the heart, a revolution which has to start with each one of us?” -Dorothy Day
Dorothy Day was a remarkable woman. Learning more about her life’s work, (To start, check out this New Yorker article and excellent PBS doc) it’s easy to understand why many are pushing for her sainthood. Though she never cared or would want any adoration or accolades.
She just deeply felt for the poor and wanted to help any way she could.
And like any artist, (she actually worked in the theatre in her early years, was very close with Eugene O’Neil and remained a prolific writer throughout her life) she had no idea if her programs would work.
But she did them anyway.
Because she was passionate. She was convicted. She had to do something.
She started out by deeply examining her conscience, her heart and listening to what it told her.
An inward revolution happened for her. Which then led to her outward revolution of kindness.
“You say you wanna make a revolution?” John Lennon once asked.
Let’s start by making a revolution inside ourselves. A revolution of our own hearts.
I wish I had something profound to write today. Something uplifting, inspiring, motivating.
I don’t.
Today’s a day where I wish I didn’t commit to a daily blog.
Because I’m struggling.
I’m struggling to make sense of all that’s going on in our country right now
I’m struggling knowing that many, many people are hurting and angry and desperate. And have been for a long time.
I’m struggling with what I could have done better. What I can do better.
I’m struggling with what exactly to tell my children.
I’m struggling with wanting to help, make an impact, but not knowing exactly how.
I’m struggling to write this post.
Perhaps you’re struggling too.
Maybe the first step is to just admit that we’re all struggling.
And then decide that no matter what, we will struggle together.
And maybe, just maybe, it’s in that united, struggling space where real change can enter.
It’s been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change gon’ come, oh yes it will -Sam Cooke
We’re in tumultuous times. No question.
Lots of changes need to be made. Everywhere. Everyone.
One truism about change is that things have to get really bad before we take action. We first have to see, know and feel just how bad things are. Then decide to do something about it. Because we don’t want to feel that way any longer.
Perhaps that’s where we are now. We’ve had enough.
Another truism about change–and one that should give us enormous hope- is that change is not linear. The time it took for things to get this bad is not equal to the time it takes to make a radical difference.
For proof on a micro level, think of losing weight, getting out of debt or reversing any negative habit.
On a macro level, look at some of the before and after pictures of our earth during this Coronavirus slowdown.
We can change. We will change. And that change will have a giant impact.
Faster than we thought possible.
So let’s do it. We’re all in this together.
“Be so good they can’t ignore you” as Steve Martin advised.
Or.
“Get as many instagram followers as you can” as this American Theatre article discusses.
Which path will you take?
“Doing something that might not work for the benefit of others”. That’s our inspiring definition of art.
A perfect example of this definition are all the mutual aid organizations that have sprouted up across the country (and the world) in response to Covid-19. Read more about them in this excellent New Yorker piece HERE.
Those who started these groups had little to no money, resources or plan. They had no clue if their ideas would work. They just had a burning desire to help. And proceeded from there.
It’s remarkable what they’ve been able to accomplish.
EUSTRESS: a positive form of stress having a beneficial effect on health, motivation, performance, and emotional well-being.
First coined by the pioneering Hungarian endocrinologist, Hans Selye, it consists of the Greek prefix “Eu”meaning good and “Stress.” It literally means “good stress.” (The opposite is “Distress” or “bad stress.” It leads to negative symptoms like depression, illness and anxiety.)
We cultivate eustress when we seek out challenges, leave our comfort zones and grow as human beings.
Examples include learning a new skill, engaging in athletic competition, traveling to a foreign country, making a career change, and yep, you guessed it…
…Making our art.
Yes, it’s hard. Yes, we’ll have growing pains. Yes, we’ll feel stress.
But it’s the good kind. The Eustress.
Seek it out. As often as you can.
“Follow your instincts.”
You hear this a lot. Especially in acting class.
It’s sound advice. Trusting your gut is generally a good thing
But is it always right?
In many cases, following your instincts is the exact, wrong thing to do.
When you swing a baseball bat or golf club for the first time, ypur instinct is to use all arms. That won’t get you very far in either sport.
When you’re hungry and a giant plate of food sits in front of you, your instinct is to shovel it all down as fast as you can. Enter stomach ache.
When someone or something stirs up your emotions, your instinct is to respond immediately. To react with whatever you’re feeling at that moment. This usually leads to doing something you’ll regret later.
Even when acting…yes, as the character we should absolutely feel everything. Have our instincts firing.
But then we should conceal. Try and regain control. That’s riveting to watch. Because it’s truthful. It’s what we do in real life.
And isn’t what makes us uniquely human our ability to go against our natural instinct at times?
To be courageous when we’re afraid.
To be generous when we want to be selfish.
To lead when we’d rather follow.
To make a change when we’re told it can’t be done.
Greatness happens when we persevere in spite of the odds.
Sometimes going against our instincts is exactly what we need to do. That’s where “the better angels of our nature” can prevail.
“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” -Viktor E. Frankl
When any external event happens to us, big or small, we have three decisions to make.
What does this event mean to me?
What am I going to focus on?
What actions will I take?
Those three decisions determine the quality of our lives and the affect we have on others.
Go make your art.
The Vs. Studio Blog