Wise Artists

Grasping for wisdom is hard.

Wisdom is both intellectual and spiritual.

Knowledge stays with you in your mind. It is remembering.

Wisdom is driven from your heart to your mind.

You can know something in 2 ways.

When you know with your mind, it is knowledge.

When you know with your heart, it is wisdom.

Why is wisdom hard and knowledge easy?

Comparatively, wisdom is hard and knowledge is easier. Sometimes to have knowledge you must go and inquire. Interviewing can be easy, but direction is primary. Where do you go? Who do you talk to? This can be hard.

Wisdom comes with experience.

You have no head knowledge of something and yet gain wisdom.

We are in a society driven by head knowledge without moral character. In fact, we are in an information and even data driven culture. Base knowledge drives the culture.

The honest application of wisdom results in moral character.

If you are an artist, moral character will help you deal with your own issues and the issues that come from other people.

In the most difficult situation, you will make the right choice. This will result in favor.

Our moral character as artists will determine the content of our art.

The content of our art will change hearts and minds and will improve the world. 

Wisdom AND Knowledge

I have been experiencing a shift in my thinking over the last 5 years.

A lot of it has come reading the book of Proverbs written mostly by King Solomon and his cohorts.

Before, I thought that knowledge was enough to get by in life.

Knowledge is accumulated facts that make sense together.

You can collect facts, but have no real knowledge.

Trivia are seemingly insignificant facts.

More important, knowledge can be trivial if you do not know how to apply it.

Wisdom is the application and experience gained from applying knowledge.

Conventional wisdom is passed down or regurgitated wisdom.

People use common sense to determine if a choice lines up with the natural way of things.

Common sense is a bare minimum form of conventional wisdom. It is easily tested.

But who tests conventional wisdom or common sense anymore?

In ancient times, Israelites had prophets, judges, scribes, and rabbis. Hindu's had gurus. In the Greco-Roman world there were philosophers. Medicine men, wise men, and sages of all varieties helped guide day-to-day life.

They all pretty much had one thing in common...they derived their wisdom from the spiritual.

In the Christian church today we have pastors, teachers, evangelists, prophets, and apostles to guide in the same manner.

We have done a great job as artists passing down knowledge.

There is a lot conventional wisdom, facts, and studies passed around for the artist's benefit.

But, is there any real wisdom for artists to grasp? Can artists go above and beyond knowledge of craft and business to actually being people of moral character? Does moral character have to be private or can we let our wisdom shine?

Story Is Uncomplicated

Story...

There is something profoundly inspiring in simplicity.

Life is rarely simple, but as humans our goals and missions are simple.

We do not complicate our desires.

It is either that we want something or we do not want it.

A story is the path from the conception of that desire to its fulfillment in reality.

It may take one minute, one hour, or many lifetimes to come to the conclusion of that desire, but what happens in the bracket of time until the desire is fulfilled is a story.

Where Do Solutions Come From?

I want to clarify some points on learning, giving, submission, and position and how being where you are at now can be an advantage where you will go next.

Six years ago when I was laid off, I had a hard time disciplining myself to find a job.

Each week, my unemployment pay off required that I apply for 2 jobs in my field a week.

Well, one of the jobs I applied for was a delivery driver at an auto parts store.

My nerves and tiredness from worry, fear, and a varying schedule got to me. I hated my situation: "This couldn't be God's plan, could it?"

I scratched a couple of delivery vans in the midst of my weakness.

This offense caused me to get demoted and my hours significantly reduced.

Ironically, ended up as an early morning stock boy. I enjoyed this a little more.

I was responsible, with a team of guys to shelve auto parts in the shelves in the back of the store.

With my hours reduced, I resumed job hunting.

I got an interview, where I currently work.

As a result of my failures and my proven skills in shelving categorically and organizationally it reflected on my resume. 

After I had gotten the job, my supervisor told me that this skill set was the primary reason that I got the job.

This is not about your resume, but your character. Take advantage of all applicable skills you can on your resume, don't leave one out.

But realize that you are an artist and you can create solutions to problems.

Where do those solutions come from?

God and your experiences...No one else can give them to you.

Skills That No One Else Will Ever Attain

At my day job I often struggle with the conflict of within me.

Why am I not doing what I know I can do best at?

The answer that I often believe is that: I am not doing art, because I have not worked hard enough or smart enough or taken more risks.

Perhaps this is true on some level. We should all take these accusations seriously in review of our lives.

Yet, there is something to taking advantage of your situation, even if you are in a miserable rut.

If the above statement about my failings is 100% true, there is still a cause for not letting the miserable rut get me down.

It is this: Learning, giving, submission, and position are always important.

For the artist's ears this statement may sting a little.

It should.

I guess when I look at it honestly, I am not the author of my life...God is.

Learning, giving, submission, and position present opportunities to grow.

Learning, giving, submission, and position experiences no matter your place of employment or service give you advantages in the next step of your journey that no one else will ever attain.

Look for these experiences and cash in now and later on their benefits. Solve problems now where you are at and you may be the leader in the place of employment or service you take. 

Art and Pain

I am on this journey toward a somewhat ambiguous goal: to serve the world with art.

I don't much have a desire to save the world, but to leave it a little better than what it was when I entered. With God's grace, this is possible.

So, I get frustrated with not knowing where exactly I am going.

I go on detours that almost always lead to the same conclusions about art:

This would be easier if I spent more time dedicating my life to art

Well, I don't have enough money to support myself in the process and I'm not too keen on taking gifts from public coffers, free or loaned

But, it's clear, I have always and it will continue to be true that I need others help to succeed in the business of art

It seems that most people don't value my art enough to fund what I am doing, no matter if I do a free blog post each week showing people what I am capable of doing- giving them additional information for their benefit

So, I either have to continue being miserable in my rut and work on the same things more or get a better job and save up again and risk being in a miserable rut somewhere else

What do I do?