New Year's Every Day

"May every sunrise hold more promise and may every sunset hold more peace."

Now is the allotted time every American understands; Christmas is past, and New Years Day is around the corner. Do you have any resolutions?

Or maybe the question is, what type of New Year's celebrator are you? You might be one of those people who lives for resolutions (whether you finish them or not is an entirely different matter), or you might not care for them at all. Whichever you are, it is not about the resolutions. At the core of New Year's, the concept is simply that the year is about to be over, and you have a blank canvas in front of you. You can paint whatever you want. New Year's is just an idea that...

Change is possible. If you don't like something about yourself, change it. But rather than making a resolution to stop doing something, make a resolution to start doing something that counteracts what you don't like about yourself. Instead of stopping wasting your time with one activity, make a resolution to every time you want to do that thing, you read a book instead or go on a walk.

But it's not that easy, is it? As human beings, the one thing you can count on is the devoted promise that we make mistakes. So I am here to propose the idea that maybe New Year's isn't just on one day, that you don't get just one chance to be who you want to be, but a hundred, a thousand, a million. Every day is a new day, a smaller blank canvas waiting for you to create who you are. You have a countless amount of new chances and opportunities in front of you, so that you can keep making mistakes until you get it right. And you will, especially with help.

So this next year, New Year comes every day.

Don't give up. Make those resolutions or not but always remember that each day is a new chance with new opportunities and new choices to make. You alone decide who you want to be. Take it one step at a time, one day at a time; don't tackle the entire empty mural of a year but take the days one canvas at a time until the mural is complete. It will be hard but do not give up. If no one else tells you in this death-filled world, I am proud of you. You can do anything, because at the start of a new day, there is the promise that anything is possible, and at the end of that new day, there is the peace that you did your absolute best. At the start of a new day, you can be whoever you want to be. So why wait until one midnight?

New Year's starts today.

Imagination Is

"Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world." - Albert Einstein

Too much pressure is put upon those from the ages of elementary school through college to be "smart." You cannot argue that some of the only things gained from school are fleeting, random pieces of knowledge. In school, you memorize formulas or learn how to write, but you never learn why the formula is there or what to write. Knowledge only goes so far, and most of the criteria learned in school is simply that: knowledge.

However, while knowledge is taught, imagination is not. It is instinctive; you just do it. It is a gift every person bears, but it is never honed, sharpened. On the contrary, imagination withers when essays have to be structured exactly like this, the formula cannot be any other way, etc. There is no room for creativity anymore. Instead of praising a creative effort, a student who decides to be different from the rest is failed.

But was it not imagination that gave us the very practical things enjoyed today like electricity or computers? Imagination is not a passive idea but the very blood of innovation. It is active, and the more you strengthen that muscle of your brain, the more your imagination will grow beyond even your wildest imagination.

This is not a call to arms against school but rather a plea to bring the curriculum of imagination into schools. Teach students how to better express their emotions onto the page, guide them through the practical discernment of when best to utilize imagination in everyday life, and allow them the opportunity to realize that the left brain and the right brain were meant to go hand in hand. Imagination and Knowledge are not enemies but brothers. Without knowledge, imagination is nonsense; without imagination, knowledge is crippled.

Even Einstein, a world famous scientist understood how important imagination is. Yes, knowledge is good, but knowledge is limited. Knowledge is the facts. Knowledge is the what. Imagination is the how, the why. Imagination is every dream. Imagination is every possibility. Imagination is absolutely endless. Imagination encircles the world.

If a person empowers his imagination, there is no stopping them. When we were kids, we believed we could fly. We believed we could do anything. We can return to that once again.

Dream impossible dreams. Reach for impossible heights. It's time to start believing again.

Do you believe you can do anything?

I believe I can, but maybe that's just my imagination.

Infinitely Minute

"Painting is an infinitely minute part of my personality." - Salvador Dali

It's important to find who you are and what makes you happy; however, the worst thing you can do is limit yourself. Too many people make the thing they love their entire life, and when that very things fails them, they look around at their life and find a broken trail of missed opportunities.

As adults, we ask kids what they want to be, instantly confining their entire future to a box. Essentially, we ask them who they want to be when, instead, who they are is a collection of a thousand desires.

What you do is not who you are.

It is only a part of you, a smaller part of you than you realize. Dali himself, a renowned surrealist painter, realized that painting was not his identity. He knew that the very thing he loved and the thing for which he was famous was only a speck on the spectrum of who he was.

So why do we limit ourselves? You don't have to just do one thing; you can do everything. Why not? What are you waiting for? You are an endless collection of hopes and fears, dreams and nightmares. You have a lot more in you than you realize. Stop making a section of your personality your entire being. You don't have to give up a hobby for your dream. You don't have to cut out sections of your life to make room for another, drastically inflated section.

Be a writer who ventures on nature walks to feed the birds. Be a dancer who visits art galleries regularly. Be a photographer who reads plays. My favorite parts of myself are not the things I do for a living but the things I do in silence. There is so much more to me than anyone will realize; you have the same potential in you as well.

Maybe if you take the time to discover the entire spectrum of your personality, you'll find something new about yourself.

And then you can keep on creating, fulfilling each infinitely minute part of you one day at a time.

Every Artist His Muse

"Every King needs his Queen; every Artist his Muse."

For some reason the assumption of artists is that they are separate from society and must work alone. This could not be further from the truth. Yes, sometimes separation is necessary, but it is this very "society" that inspires artists to create. Even Henry David Thoreau escaped the social world only to write about it in his book Walden. Whether someone is constantly trying to be with people or avoid people, they are inspired by those very people. At the heart, artists create a form of life, and in that endeavor, one must understand life.

There are "solo artists," but are they really "solo"? They have people who help record their songs, play with them, and sell their work. They need a partnership.

Whether or not you realize it, you need people. Even if you do not believe anything that was said above, there is still one other relationship that sparks creativity. The unseen spectator known as the audience. Their part is not a passive one; it is active. They bring "the work in contact with the external world by deciphering and interpreting its inner qualifications and thus add their contribution to the creative act," as Marcel Duchamp says. As an artist, you raise questions, and questions are meant to be answered. That is the audience's job. They are your collaborators, and you need them as much as they need you. It is a beautiful partnership. Human beings are relationship-driven, so why can't art be?

You weren't meant to be alone.

Cole Porter had Linda Lee Thomas. Picasso had Adriana. Robert Frost had Elinor Frost.

Find someone who understands your blend of tortured joy in creating art and do not ever let them go. 

They are your muse.

When the Pupils Dilate

"You are one decision away from a totally different life."

Life is so short. There are so very few things that can make us happy, and yet we instead constantly pursue the things that squelch this very joy. We choose the things that force us to dread waking up every morning, that dull the enjoyment of eating meals, and even that make the sun seem to shine less brightly. Why?

Because we were told to.

"Art is a hobby."
"You need a stable job."
"You're being selfish."
"You can't support a family like that."
"This is just a phase."

Listen closely as I speak for the thousands of unspoken voices battling depression, anxiety, and fear because they are not allowed to choose to do what they love each and every day:

This is not a phase.

This is who we are. Why is it selfish to be happy? Every person should be doing what they love whether it be engineering or dancing. If you daydream about another profession, another idea, or another life, then that is what you love. You were born to live that life, not this life you were forced to fit into. So many people go to work but only wish they could get back home to their hobby, because that is what they truly love. You do not have to live like that. When did hobbies become the secrets of who you really are? The question is simple...

What makes you smile? What makes your face light up? What makes your pupils dilate? Love is a chemical response in the brain, and when that feeling appears, the pupils dilate. A very simple bodily function to a unforgettable and magnificent feeling. Does it happen when you talk about your favorite book? A movie concept? This song that makes you want to dance? The colors you want to use for your next painting? A single lyric in your favorite poem? Watch for the pupils and when they dilate. You will know who a person really is by what they love.

Find that thing that makes you happy and do not let it go. It is part of who you are. It is part of your story. If you do not know what makes you happy then think about this:

Have you ever woken up so overwhelmingly ecstatic about something?

Then remember that. Hold on to that. Because if you chase that very thing, the odds are that you will wake up with that feeling again, as you were meant to. No longer do you have to be unhappy just to please someone else, to conform to society or peer pressure, or to do what you thought you were supposed to love. You are free to wake up in the morning with a smile once more.

You were born to be happy so do not let anyone else tell you otherwise.

When do your pupils dilate?

What Are You Fighting For?

"When Winston Churchill was asked to cut arts funding in favor of the war effort, he simply replied, 'Then what are we fighting for?'"

Turn on the news. It's hard to not find tragedy. People are hurting, looking for peace--looking for any sort of joy.

They need to be inspired now more than ever. They need something that makes them smile.

Why can't you provide that something?

This is a world where one event shakes the entire earth and brings us all together, not as nations but as brothers and sisters of humanity. When the world is shaking, something sturdy is needed. In the wake of tragedy, people need to hope. Why can't you be the one to inspire someone with hope?

In these times, it is easy to lose the focus on what is really important and what really brings people together. Winston Churchill understood that better than most.

So why are the arts so important in times like these? Not only do they provide a much needed escape, a paradisaical respite from war, but they combat war. Art provides hope, joy, and love, everything that war is not.

Why?

We're human, and art is a part of us. It's who we are. We are either Creators or Decimators. We bring art, or we bring war. The choice is ever present, and the struggle is ever constant.

What are you fighting for?

Down the Rabbit Hole

"We're all a little mad here..."

Art has a funny way of appearing in the most unexpected circumstances.

I know from experience that one wrong note plucked on a guitar can lead to a whole new song. One out of place line can lead to a entirely different poem. These are not mistakes. They are living, breathing forms of your story, and they are leading you to something beautiful.

Follow them.

Do I sound crazy? Maybe it's because I dared to open those parts of myself and followed those emotions and thoughts down the rabbit hole. There, I discovered a feeling I could never quite express in words. Not only that, but I also felt joy in creating something that was entirely my own. I went down the rabbit hole and followed that wrong note until I discovered a hidden part of my own story.

What would have happened if I had fixed the mistake?

Play a chord until the lyrics come out of your mouth. Put a song on repeat until the music affects your body. Hold a brush until a drop of paints falls onto the canvas.

And follow it down the rabbit hole.

Daring to be Impulsive

When we were young children, we cried when we were sad, we laughed when we were happy, and we screamed when we were angry. We voiced our emotions whenever we felt like it. We followed our impulses, because at the time, that was all we knew. We were spontaneous. At the time, it was okay.

But then we grew up. And suddenly, feeling something was wrong. Very early on, we were taught to hide what we felt. We were taught to silence our desire to follow impulses. We still felt them, but we could not follow them. We could not longer cry, no longer scream--we did not stop feeling, no. But we were not supposed to reveal what we felt. So what happened to those feelings, those instincts?

They were bottled up. Every impulse to feel something was muffled, because we had to "act normal." Without realizing it, we were taught that being an adult meant that you cannot be spontaneous.

If this is true, then I do not want to be an adult.

But what if there was an escape from the pressures of growing old? What if there was a way to cry, laugh, and scream without judgment? All you need is a place to direct those impulses.

You see, art is not always premeditated. A feeling is felt, and then that feeling is followed. What follows next is a masterpiece. Every great songwriter, painter, or writer created something beautiful, because they first felt something. If you do not allow yourself to feel certain things, then how can you express them? And if you do not express them, then how can you reach someone who is experiencing the very same thing?

Following impulses is simpler than you think. The next time you have a reasonable idea, act on it. That very impulse you might have silenced could be the greatest adventure of your life.

Therefore, I will continue to follow my own impulses and choose to find spontaneity in every day. Art is outside the box; why can't you be too?

So I will choose to randomly sit out here under the stars, past midnight, playing on my guitar, because that is what makes me happy.

And who knows...that one impulse that led me to this spot might be the reason that this song I'm now writing touches someone's life or makes them laugh.

All because I felt something, and I followed that feeling.

Do you dare?

Who's the Star?

"I once took this English class in college, and we had been going over a brief, very literature and "English" way of seeing a worldview of love. One thing that really stuck out to me was one of my professors points and more importantly a video and quote he used to illustrate his point. My professors third point in his lecture was the 'requisite of love - the royal law of love'. He went on from there to explain that to love someone one you must be able to recognize our sameness, and to have a loving appreciation of uniqueness (how vastly different we all are).  He then clicked his laptop and this quote appeared on the projector in front of me and what I read hit me right in the very center of my heart:

 "Love is the difficult realization that something other than oneself is real." Iris Murdoch

Oh, ouch! It hit me after I read it a second time how very guilty I am of committing this crime too. What Murdoch, in this simple one sentence, conveys is that until you take the spotlight off of yourself and realize you are not the star of the universe; until you do this you will not be able to love. And yes Iris Murdoch is right, how 'difficult of a realization' this is. I think to some degree we all see ourselves as the stars in our own movies. And that the rest of the people in our life play principle characters and may very well win Oscars in this life for best supporting actress or best supporting actor. However, we are the star! Yet it did ever occur to you that the person you passed in the hallway at work or school, just once (you'll never see them again) thinks the same very thing about themselves? To each other we're simply extras in each others movie...yet we're starring in our own movie. I'd never realized how, without even trying, self centered I was. How could I be so caught up in whats happening around me that I didn't stop to notice the 'extras' in 'my movie'?! Everyone has a story, and their story affects how they act day to day, and that story deserves to be heard. I think that's what true love is, or maybe this chips away at what true love is. It's kinda like that line from Les Miserables,

"To love another person is to see the face of God"

 Because of this simple general education class I now have a brand new perspective on people that I pass in the hallway's, the person I sit next to at a stoplight. What's their story? What have they been through? And if given the chance would I love them enough to listen to their story? I think that's what true love is, or definitely a big part, not focusing on yourself and your life but seeing the 'extras' in your life and making them 'the stars' of the show."

 --Maggie Quick, Guest Contributor

Regifting a Smile

"I hope the people who wrote those songs are happy. I hope they feel its enough. I really do because they've made me happy. And I'm only one person." - Charlie from The Perks of Being a Wallflower

How many times has something changed your day? How many times has it changed your life? Maybe you know this feeling all too well, or maybe you can't even imagine what it might feel like. I've had those moments where I wished I could just thank the writer, the author, the creator for touching my life, but there was no way of reaching them. Maybe you can't thank them. But what you can do is inspire someone else. You can extend how they made you feel to another. You can make someone happy.

Why? Because someone made you happy. Give that same gift to someone else. And even if you are not happy, art has a funny way of putting a smile on your face regardless of whether you are giving or receiving it. If you don't agree, prove me wrong.

Because even if you create something to show me that it didn't make you happy, I'll be smiling. I'll be overjoyed to look at your art, and I'll be inspired to keep creating myself. Just think of what you'll feel when you see you put smiles on the faces of dozens, hundreds, thousands.

You should be happy--you should be proud. Because you've made me happy.

And I'm only one person.

This is Our Story

What’s Your Story?

Everybody’s got one…how will you tell yours?

Art is everywhere—especially in you. A simple melody, a three-word phrase, a wordless stroke of a paintbrush are all flashes of art in our world. They make up everything around us, though crafted only by those few famous creators of our time. Every song, every poem, every painting is left to the professionals. But now, it is your time.

You, the everyman. Art is everywhere—especially in you.

I am not a man of legend. My brain is not a brilliant palace of creativity, but I do have a story. I will tell my story. I could tell it through dance. I could tell it through song. I could tell it through novels, paintings, poems, sketches, photography, graphic design, music of any instrument, lyrics, scripts, film, calligraphy, acting, hair design, makeup design, cooking, sculpting, sewing, knitting, short stories—the list goes on and on, because the list only stops when you decide you cannot create any more. But you can make art. After all, art is everywhere—especially in you.

But what exactly is “art?”

Art, nowadays is an off-putting term. We only go to see art at a gallery, and when we have had our fill, we leave the art behind until we think of it again, only as an activity, possibly years later. Most of the population frowns on art as though it should only be a pastime. I intend to change that mindset. Art is not meant to be solely housed inside a stationary prison but endlessly spread across the world for everyone to see. Those paintings, structures, and sculptures seen at museums and exhibits are only fractions of what art could be. When did sonnets, plays, music, and dance all stop becoming “art?” In the modern definition of the word, art is “the quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful.”

If that is the definition of art, then that inspires the question…what is beautiful?

You.

You are beautiful because you were created by the Beautiful. There is nothing that separates you from the professionals of this age, other than your ingrained presupposition that you simply cannot create. You are a unique and interwoven tapestry of emotions, thoughts, and ideas. Why not express them? This mess of sunshine and darkness, hopes and fears, memories and imaginations fused at your very core is what I call your story. Your story is your being. It is who you were, who you are, and who you will become simultaneously coexisting in the same plane: you. There is no one way to express your story, for each story is pricelessly unique and deserves to be told a thousand different times in a thousand different ways.

So if your story is you—and you are beautiful—and art is anything that is beautiful, then your story is art. Anything you create can be a masterpiece, not based on grade, skill level, fear of failure to reach perfection, desire to impress others, or traditional lenses of the word beauty but based solely on your heart—your story.

What if my story impacts a million people? Or even more…what if my story impacts just one? How can I not share my story and touch that one life, inspiring it with the everyday beauty in life? Not only will sharing your story impact your own life, but it will impact others. It will inspire both yourself, those around you, and those you have yet to meet. Your story will be seen, heard, and felt.

But how can you do that? It’s simple. Start by creating something once a week through any one of the innumerable art forms and post it on any social media site. Get your story out there and encourage others to join in with sharing what is in their heart. Share the pages and accounts of “What’s Your Story?” with your friends and tag the pages whenever you craft a form of art.

Spread a revolution of beauty, a revival of personal creativity. It begins with you.

Never stop creating, never stop dreaming, and never stop telling your story.

Art is everywhere—especially in you. Your story is art. It is anything you choose to create. You story is waiting…

Everybody’s got one: this is our story...how will you tell yours?

What are you waiting for?

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