I tend to think a lot about happiness. I think most of us do.
It’s a desirable state.
But what actually is happiness?
And can we really expect to be happy all – the – time?
Would we even want to be?
Happiness is temporary. It comes and goes in our minute by minute experience. Someone cracks a joke and we laugh… or says something nice and we smile… or does something funny or great and it makes us happy.
Sometimes we notice. Sometimes we don’t. And other times… the moment comes and goes before we even realise we’ve been there!
Once said of happiness… “what goes up must come down” and as a natural consequence “the bigger they are the harder they fall“ I rest my case [grin]
Contentment on the other hand is a state of being. A generalised feeling of comfort and well-being we can live with for days weeks or months at a time. The stars are aligned and all is right with our world.
So which is better do you think?
[And don't be a smarty pants here and tell me "both" okay? grin]
I’m asking you to choose!
What if we choose to be happy? Will we then be plummeted to the depths of despair when we don’t have it?
And what if we choose to be content? Are we selling out? And what’s more… missing out… on the dynamic highs and disastrous lows that are the hallmarks of the happiness state?
There is an artistic metaphor here for sure. Artists look for the light. It’s the light that falls on the subject that makes the subject jump to life. And the balance of light and dark in a painting that makes the subject appear real.
Is this the same for life?
Do we need the dark to see the light?
Zen Buddhist monks [a huge fan of the Dalai Lama] espouse meditation to achieve tranquility and peace. They see contentment as the desired state.
Adventurers likeSir Richard Branson [a huge fan of him as well] live for the next big high that will give them the adrenalin rush that makes the living of life so worthwhile to them. Life simply makes them happy!
Who is right?
Who is wrong?
And is there a right or wrong way to live your life in the quest for that “feel good” state?
Is contented better than happy? Or is [insanely] happy the only way to go? [grin]
Join me on You Tube (see below for the link) but read this first!
Well it’s been a crazy week of revolving doors for me as new doors swing open and old doors slam shut . Generally speaking though that’s great news… and a sign that things in my Universe are starting to shake out!
You know… it’s kind of fun to stand back and watch from a distance all the action happening in your own life. Letting go of outcomes and allowing things to just be can be a bit scary at times… but it’s fun nonetheless. And I could get used to it. [Grin]
The global economic climate (not to be confused with climate change per se- grin) has given everyone quite a bit to think about. But for creative artists of all persuasions (be they painters potters or musicians) the struggle to do well at what we do well… has always been pretty difficult. And historically nothing has changed.
Vincent Van Gogh was creatively and financially supported throughout his entire career by his brother Theo. He never sold a painting. We may well laugh now at how wealthy he might have been in his own lifetime. But he wasn’t. He was a man ahead of his time. But no-one really got that. Not even his fellow artists. Especially not his fellow artists. Consequently without the creative endorsement he craved… he was condemned to continually question his own worth as an artist.
Sound familiar?
The upshot of course was that Vincent finally sliced off an ear and died in a garret with two bullet holes in his stomach partly because he couldn’t handle it anymore. He gave up. And it’s easy to give up on a world that doesn’t know that stars are blobs of swirling bright light circling the evening sky… [grin]
Creative spirits live in a world of their own. There is no clear direction forward for us… not to mention… very little endorsement or feedback for what we’ve already done.
Yes… we know what we want. But what the rest of the world wants is an entirely different matter. Complicate that further by saying that much of the rest of the world doesn’t actually know what they want… orwhat they like [without being told]… and we have one very perplexing problem!
In the end… fame and fortune pretty much comes down to the “hype” around the product… and not necessarily the product itself. The people who eventually gain recognition… are not necessarily those with the most talent… but those who are best able to bring their product to the marketplace via the best most expedient method.
But this is all terribly left brain stuff. And most artists (well the creative ones anyway) are incredibly right brain orientated. That’s what makes them… surprise surprise… so darned creative!
For my part… well… I don’t want to be famous but I do want to get my stuff out there. So that means I have to spend at least some of my time in the left brained world. It’s a funny nuts and bolts place to be… but it can be a whole lot of fun as well.
Check out my new You Tube clip here.
It was a challenge to put this together and the best fun you can ever have all by yourself in iPhoto and on YouTube. Would also like to thank Paul Simon [the voice and lyrics of my childhood] for the use of Punkey’s Dilemma… the cornflake song… what a great little song it still is!
For my part… I just want to paint and write… live… laugh and love. Whatever comes after [in/around and between] all that… who knows and who even cares? It’s my life. And I’m only going to get one chance at it. I make mistakes like everyone else. And have suffered probably more than my fair share of sadness. But I am also blessed in so many ways.
And the great thing is I am finally beginning to realise that absolutely nothing is ever set in stone. Doors open and close all the time with intermittent regularity. And all that’s required of us is a willingness to step through the next open door to see what’s on the other side. It’s as easy as that! *wink*
The real prizes in life go to whoever opens the most doors… and investigates as fully as possible their own individual potential. There are no guarantees we will survive this life… in fact… it’s a pretty sure thing that we’re not going to make it out alive!
So heck… while we’re here we may as well give it our best shot. With or without any thanks… or claps… and regardless of the heckles… [or the people who would persist in placing obstacles in our way]
Doing our creative thing… whatever that may be… is our gift to the world as much as ourselves. And you never know… maybe someday… someone… somewhere…. might just get it and go WOW!
If not… well… we had a whole heck of a lot of fun doing whatever it was we got to do!
Didn’t we?
Would love to hear your comments about YOUR creative life and experience. Drop me a line here!
Oh… and before I forget… the 2010 Universal Artist Calendar is now available for immediate shipping over at RED BUBBLE [in case you didn't get that already LOL] Okay… that’s enough shameless self promotion for me… back to painting… writing… more dreaming *sigh* :-)
Here is my entry in the 21st Rotary Cartoon Awards… a national/international competition hosted once again at the Bunker Gallery in Coffs Harbour. The Awards are a bit of a big deal in the cartoon world with entries accepted from both amateur and professional cartoonists worldwide.
I had two entries ready… but upon (erroneous) advice that captions were disallowed… I didn’t send the second one. Foul play? No I don’t think so (grin) I should have read deeper into the fine print of the entry form to learn that captions were disallowed in the International section only. So I could have sent the other one as well. Ha! Oh well.. c’est la vie.
Originally this was going to be “Climate Change – Full Tilt” (avec captions) but turned out being plain old “Full Tilt” because that’s all I could fit into the toon after the fact! Never mind… I think the gag stands quite well on it’s own two feet as a humorous ‘take’ on the irony of weather in this Great South Land over the past year. I hope so anyway.
Besides… I have no expectations for this entry except that… by participation… it represents my persistence to prevail despite everything.
Keep smiling… you never know when someone’s gonna smile back! (((chuckles))) :-)
I have been busy producing more cartoons for the NewMatilda competition but won’t show them here until after the Comp… (or maybe before if they don’t get into the Heats). It’s getting close now with only two heats to go and the professionals are out in force pushing us wannabees to the back of the queue. Too bad. C’est la vie!
In the meantime… I came across this film clip which I simply loved. It put a smile on my face in a challenging week that was sadly lacking in reasons to… except of course for the making of cupcakes above which always puts a smile on my dial (((chuckles)))
Similar to the Improv Everywhere crew’s stunt in Grand Central Station New York… this was a fascinating exercise (and heartwarming insight) into human behaviour. I think they pulled it off well…
In the midst of the world’s gloom and doom it seems there is still occasion for joy in the indomitable human spirit. This clip made me feel so proud and happy to be a human bean! (grin)
Cartoon Pen & Watercolor © 2011 Jean Burman
Join me on You Tube (see below for the link) but read this first!
Cartoon Pen & Watercolour
Cartoon Pen & Watercolour 
“Full Tilt”
Mini cupcake baked and photographed by
