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YOU MUST DROP FEAR, IF YOU WANT TO MAKE ART...

BOB DIAMOND: “Being from Earth, as you are, and using as little of your brain as you do, your life has pretty much been devoted to dealing with fear.”

DANIEL MILLER: “It has?”

BOB DIAMOND: “Well, everybody on Earth deals with fear. That’s what little brains do.” “Fear is like a giant fog. It sits on your brain and blocks everything: real feelings, true happiness, real joy. They can’t get through that fog. But you lift it, and buddy, you’re in for the ride of your life.”

                                                                          
                                                            —Defending your life, 1991, Albert Brooks.

... AND ALSO IF YOU WANT TO LIVE YOUR LIFE TO ITS FULLEST.

As a writer, I have faced two kinds of fear:

FEAR ABOUT MYSELF.

Who am I to write a book? Why would I want to share it? Do I have talent? Do I need credentials to make art? Do I have the courage and the energy that involves artmaking?

FEAR ABOUT OTHERS.

Do I care about what others think about my work? What are they going to think about me? What if people say they don’t like my work? What if they disparage my work?

Soon an artist comes across these dreadful questions like an alpinist facing snow-avalanches. Along the way, there are many lessons an artist should learn. They are all reflected on their work.

I’m sharing with you the lessons I’ve been learning:

·     Don’t sell your freedom to make your own art. 

·   Don’t push others to like, understand, or value your work. Every piece of art that comes from your heart will need time [1] to be understood. In either case, if people say good things about your work, say thank you. If people say bad things about your work, say thank you. If people ignore your work, say thank you.

·     ‘Sell your cleverness, buy bewilderment.’—I stole it from Rumi.

·   Don’t get lost in the world of perfectionism. Good work doesn't mean perfect work. After all, perfection calls for stagnation, paralysis. Even it applies in science, as Albert Einstein put it "As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not certain; and as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality."

·     Expect nothing; your work is your guide. 

·     Get rid of your labels, and you’ll meet yourself. Don't identify yourself with your own work. Doing and Being are two different verbs.

·     And never, never, never give up. No matter what. Sing the song of your heart! 

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[1] Sometimes, it needs centuries. 

Copyright © 2012 by THE PYTHAGOREAN STORYTELLER. All rights reserved.