beauty

had a great conversation with my friend Teo the other day about losing excitement or purpose in my art. he went through a similar phase a few months back and said what helped him get out of it was this priceless realization:

***(i think it’s amazing how serious moments of suffering almost always lead to growth. they go hand in hand. it’s kind of beautiful.)***

his realization was that what he liked and what he cared about were two different things. and we often confuse the two. lots of people like and care about the same things, it's a very common thing, but not everyone.

enjoying something doesn’t necessarily mean you care about it. you can enjoy painting, but maybe that’s not what you care about deep down. maybe what you care about is serving people for instance.

the thing is, your purpose sits somewhere at the crossroads between what you like and what you care about.

if you like the arts but don’t care about the arts, because you find it too superficial or disconnected or abstract, it’s going to be really difficult to pursue an art career.

i thought that was a super interesting way to look at things.

and it got me thinking..

do i care about music?

i know i love music.

i do care about the craft. making something timeless and tasteful. filled with love. high vibration. i care about the artistry. quality over quantity (although i think you should be reaching for both.) i don’t care about fame, but i do care about money. and success. that’s something that’s always in the back (and front) of my mind. how to make enough money. how to make more money aaaaah.

and honestly, i don’t like mixing money and music.

even though it feels good to get paid for music, it often drains the joy out of it. makes me lose interest. dulls the love.

i care about beauty. not in a vain way, but in the same way a sunset is beautiful. a face is mesmerizing. whether we like it or not, beauty is important. or the absence of it is sad i should say.

humans are built to make things. and if we’re going to make things, might as well make them beautiful. why? because it reflects the work of god. or nature. spend enough time in nature and you start noticing all the details, the patterns, the intelligence.

and when it’s your turn to create, it only makes sense to try and reflect that. mirror that. respond to it with something of your own.

THAT, i care about.

but then the question comes back: why create at all?

maybe just to offer something back. to whatever force is greater than us.

because like it or not, we’re going to create. it’s in our blood. everything is a creation. but so much of it is cheap now. designed to maximize profit. and because of that, quality fades. and so does beauty. new constructions are ugly. products don’t last. design is considered superfluous. but we’re still drawn to beauty. something in us wants it. we’re pulled toward it. toward something higher. more meaningful. it’s part of us.

beauty is important and honestly, it's the bare minimum when you’re creating something.

i really believe the world would be better if everyone agreed on that.

imagine a world where every building, every song, every object was in tune with nature. in balance. built with love.

but instead, we live in a system where money rules. it’s all about how fast, how much, how cheap. and that needs to change.

***

BUSY ADDING BEAUTY TO THE WORLD! I'M GOING TO MAKE EVERYTHING AROUND ME BEATIFUL. THAT WILL BE MY LIFE.

- Love