The Vs. Studio Blog

“Every one of us is shadowed by an illusory person: a false self. We are not very good at recognizing illusions, least of all the ones we cherish about ourselves. Contemplation is not and cannot be a function of this external self. There is an irreducible opposition between the deep transcendent self that awakens only in contemplation, and the superficial, external self which we commonly identify with the first person singular. Our reality, our true self, is hidden in what appears to us to be nothingness….We can rise above this unreality and recover our hidden reality…God Himself begins to live in me not only as my Creator but as my other and true self.” -Thomas Merton, New Seeds Of Contemplation

“There, and you say you are dying! Lie still and get warm, that’s our way…” began Vasili Andreevich.

But to his great surprise he could say no more, for tears came to his eyes and his lower jaw began to quiver rapidly. He stopped speaking and only gulped down the risings in his throat. “Seems I was badly frightened and have gone quite weak,” he thought. But this weakness was not only not unpleasant, but gave him a peculiar joy such as he had never felt before.

“That’s our way!” he said to himself, experiencing a strange and solemn tenderness. He lay like that for a long time, wiping his eyes on the fur of his coat and tucking under his knee the right skirt, which the wind kept turning up.

But he longed so passionately to tell somebody of his joyful condition that he said: “Nikita!”

“It’s comfortable, warm!” came a voice from beneath.

“There, you see, friend, I was going to perish. And you would have been frozen, and I should have…” But again his jaws began to quiver and his eyes to fill with tears, and he could say no more.

“Well, never mind,” he thought. “I know about myself what I know.” He remained silent and lay like that for a long time.” -excerpt from the shorty story, “Master And Man” by Leo Tolstoy

“We don’t have to become an entirely new person to do better; our view just has to be readjusted, our natural energy turned in the right direction. We don’t have to swear off our powers or repent of who we are or what we like to do or are good at doing. Those are our horses; we just have to hitch them to the right, uh, sled.

What kept Vasili so small all his life? (What is keeping us so small now?) He wasn’t small, actually, as proven by his end. He was infinite. He had access to as much great love as any of our beloved spiritual heroes. Why did he live out his life in that small country of selfishness? What was it that finally jolted him out of it? Well, it was truth. He saw that his idea of himself was untrue. His idea that he was himself was untrue. All of those years, he was only part of himself. He had made that part, was always making it and defending it, with his thoughts and his pride and his desire to win, which continually separated him, Vasili, from everything else. As that entity, Vasili, faded away, what was left behind discerned the fallacy and joined (rejoined) the great non-Vasili of it all.

If we could reverse the process (let him come alive again, warm that body up, melt away the snow, cause him to forget all he’s learned tonight) what we would see would be a mind gradually reasserting a series of lies: “You are separate” and “You are central” and “You are correct” and “Go forth and prove that you are better, that you are the best.

And then he would be all the way himself again.”

-excerpt from the book, A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life by George Saunders

See the world as your self.
Have faith in the way things are.
Love the world as your self;
then you can care for all things. -“Tao Te Ching” by Lao Tzu (Stephen Mitchell translation)

Another name we can give the “false self” which Thomas Merton and other mystics identified, is the “small self.” The self of scarcity. The self of the singular. The self that’s only concerned with one person: Me, Myself and I. It’s a woefully incomplete and inadequate version.

Instead, see you in everyone and everyone in you. When you do, the whole world opens up. The illusion is shattered. The true self or large “SELF” emerges. The SELF of abundance. The SELF of compassion. The SELF that contain multitudes. The unstoppable SELF.

“Even if we can’t beat fate, we can nevertheless give fortune a hard time.” -Plutarch writing about Cato The Younger

“A man can be destroyed, but not defeated.” -Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and The Sea

“I know you had nothing to do with the injustice that brought me to this jail, so I’m willing to stay here until I get out. But I will not, under any circumstances, be treated like a prisoner — because I am not and will never be powerless.” -Rubin “Hurricane” Carter speaking to a prison warden

“The last of the human freedoms: to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way. And there were always choices to make. Every day, every hour, offered the opportunity to make a decision, a decision which determined whether you would or would not submit to those powers which threatened to rob you of your very self, your inner freedom; which determined whether or not you become the plaything to circumstance, renouncing freedom and dignity…” -Viktor Frankl, book Man’s Search For Meaning

Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light. -Dylan Thomas, poem “Do not go gentle into that good night.”

Regardless of the overwhelming odds, the awful circumstances, and whatever else fate sends your way, you always have a choice about two things:

Your attitude and your response.

No one or no thing can ever take that away from you. Always remember this. For that’s where your true power lies.

If a country is governed wisely,
its inhabitants will be content.
They enjoy the labor of their hands
and don’t waste time inventing
labor-saving machines.
Since they dearly love their homes,
they aren’t interested in travel.
There may be a few wagons and boats,
but these don’t go anywhere.
There may be an arsenal of weapons,
but nobody ever uses them.
People enjoy their food,
take pleasure in being with their families,
spend weekends working in their gardens,
delight in the doings of the neighborhood.
And even though the next country is so close
that people can hear its roosters crowing and its dogs barking,
they are content to die of old age
without ever having gone to see it. -Verse 80 of the “Tao Te Ching” by Lao Tzu (Stephen Mitchell translation)

The closer you can get to narrowing the gulf between those activities you naturally love to do as well as those you have to do, the happier you will be.

One giant clue…your attitude.

Even the most laborious tasks, can you view them differently? Can you find the fun in them? The learning? The growth? Can you flow with them?

Let me take you down
‘Cause I’m going to strawberry fields
Nothing is real
And nothing to get hung about
Strawberry fields forever
Strawberry fields forever
Strawberry fields forever -song, “Strawberry Fields Forever” by The Beatles

Tyger Tyger, burning bright,
In the forests of the night;
What immortal hand or eye,
Could frame thy fearful symmetry? -poem, “The Tyger” by William Blake

Heading into Labor Day Weekend (unofficially our last weekend of summer), this Zen parable is a reminder to enjoy the strawberries (and maybe even get out and pick some) while you still can (h/t to Sahil Bloom)…

A woman is being chased by a tiger.
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She runs as fast as she can, but the tiger is catching up.
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She comes to a cliff and sees some vines hanging over the edge, so she climbs down them, knowing that the tiger will not be able to follow.
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She looks down and sees another tiger waiting for her if she falls. She looks up at the hungry tiger above and notices a small mouse gnawing away at the vine she is holding onto.
​
She looks ahead and sees a bunch of strawberries in front of her on the cliff face. She picks a strawberry, puts it in her mouth, and enjoys it thoroughly.

The tigers can wait.

Have some fun. Be here now. Enjoy the strawberries.

“Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend.” -Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

“The transformative power of love is not fully embraced in our society because we often wrongly believe that torment and anguish are our ‘natural’ condition.” -bell hooks

In all that you do, in all your relationships, be transformational. Not transactional.

Wondering how to do so?

Love. (Not the feeling. The active verb.)

When you love, when you “will the good of the other as other” per Aquinas, you can transform everyone you come into contact with.

When the band came out
They stood behind you
Cymbals crashed
The lights went blue

You stood alone
In the halo’s haze
Shiny guitar hung on
Gold lamé
And you
You were the lonely one
You were
The lonely one

When you perform
It’s so intense
When the critics pan
I write in your defense -Wilco, song “The Lonely 1”

It’s a lonely endeavor…

To be passionate about something and want to do it 24/7 if you could.

To be bursting with enthusiasm.

To strive for excellence.

To make art solely for art’s sake.

To put your whole heart and soul into something. To risk.

To obsess over every detail because you care that much about your intended audience.

It can feel like a lonely endeavor because there’s only a few of you out there.

But they’re out there.

You’ll know it when you see it. Game recognizes game.

Find them. Strive with them. Help them feel a little less alone.

Go make your art together.

I love the below words of wisdom from writer-activist Lydia Wylie-Kellermann (hat tip to Richard Rohr and his daily CAC meditations). I’ll just let it speak for itself…

Dear friends,
ask the hard questions.
Give thanks for uncertainty.
Trust yourself.
Lean into the wisdom of community.
Don’t take yourself too seriously.
Know that the arc is long.
Lean on the ancestors.
Ask the creatures for advice.
Follow the wind.
Know that there is no right way.
Trust others on their path.
Find yours.
Embrace the mess.
Give your life to a
holy, undeniable “Yes!”
Whatever that yes may be.
And know, that this “had to happen.”
How lucky we are to be alive!

Therefore the Master
acts without doing anything
and teaches without saying anything.
Things arise and she lets them come;
things disappear and she lets them go.
She has but doesn’t possess,
acts but doesn’t expect.
When her work is done, she forgets it.
That is why it lasts forever. –Tao Te Ching by Lao-Tzu (Stephen Mitchell translation)

Everything that’s important to you, everything you believe is yours…your life, your family, your friends, your time, your talent, your relationships, your work, your health, your wealth, etc…can you think of all these things through the lens of being a steward, rather than an owner?

Amazing things happen when you do.

Stewardship engenders humility. You realize that no matter how hard you worked for it, in the end, everything in your life is a gift.

Stewardship engenders gratitude. Because you know everything is a gift, you appreciate and are thankful for these gifts so much more. Which brings you more joy.

Stewardship engenders love. You’ve been entrusted with these gifts. Love them. Care for them. Nurture them.

Stewardship engenders sacrifice. Don’t hoard or try to possess these gifts. Rather, give them up to the world. That’s how you participate in the infinite loop of grace.

Be the pot to the flower. Help it reach its full beauty and potential.

“The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.” Michelangelo

Speaking of The Nudge, this anecdote from Economics professor Tyler Cowen…

Yesterday I had lunch with a former Ph.D student of mine, who is now highly successful and tenured at a very good school. I was reminded that, over twenty years ago, I was Graduate Director of Admissions. One of my favorite strategies was to take strong candidates who applied for Masters and also offer them Ph.D admissions, suggesting they might to do the latter. My lunch partner was a beneficiary of this de facto policy.

At least two of our very best students went down this route… neither realized that it was common simply to apply straight to a Ph.D program, skipping over the Masters. I believe this is now better known, but the point is this.

At critical moments in time, you can raise the aspirations of other people significantly, especially when they are relatively young, simply by suggesting they do something better or more ambitious than what they might have in mind. It costs you relatively little to do this, but the benefit to them, and to the broader world, may be enormous. This is in fact one of the most valuable things you can do with your time and with your life.

In addition to believing in someone (especially when they don’t always believe in themselves), one of the greatest gifts you can give another person is to get them to raise their expectations.

Show them what’s possible. Inspire them.

One way to do this is to curate and make great art.

P.S. – This article about “The Cathedral Effect.”

“Great art is the outward expression of an inner life in the artist, and this inner life will result in [their] personal vision of the world.” -Edward Hopper

Another phenomenal poem from Albert Huffstickler (aka “Huff) who also wrote “I Dreamed I Lived In Austin” which I put in the blog a little while back. Here is “The Way Of Art…” (hat tip to the always excellent Poetic Outlaws)

“The Way Of Art” by Albert Huffstickler

It seems to me that,
paralleling the paths of action, devotion, etc.,
there is a path called art
and that the sages of the East would recognize
Faulkner, Edward Hopper, Beethoven, William Carlos Williams
and address them as equals.
It’s a matter of intention and discipline, isn’t it? —
combined with a certain amount of God-given ability.
It’s what you’re willing to go through, willing to give, isn’t it?
It’s the willingness to be a window
through which others can see
all the way out to infinity
and all the way back to themselves.

Be the medium. Allow it to happen. Channel your art so others can see and find themselves in your art.