In this life, it is imperative that we all find the means to ensure a steady and secure life for ourselves and our loved ones. This is why we have colleges and jobs. To be financially stable through life is our definition of being secure. But has anyone given thought to what "being secure" actually means? It is to be happy with one’s life and achievements.
In "The Good Will", part of Kant’s philosophy (sorry, I know i mention him alot, even though his philosophy has the most holes in it, I feel it is the closest one can get to thoroughly defining ways of life in absolute terms) he mentions an obligation, on our behalf, of giving to society what we subjectively can. This means, if one has a passion for helping people, their obligation would be to pursue that natural passion as a way of giving to the human race. Said ones would become nurses, doctors, or elderly care professionals. However, how many of us are so quick to shoot for those titles with the simple intent of being "secure" in life. Even if it contradicts ones actual passions. Granted, some are meant to become salesmen, finance specialists and so on, but how many of us settle for that when our passions are different? Just as a means of support and financial security....induced by fear.
This is where our subjective obligations set it. The obligation of art is strongly looked through as nothing in this world. This is because our world is set up so that those who enforce art for the society are less likely to be "safe" in terms of money and a secure life. It has induced a fear in many great people, with great potential, causing them to give into the "normal" life of dedicating themselves to giving to society in a completely different way. Yes, we need doctors and bankers, but I have met people with passions that correlate to those titles. What this world also needs is art. Art, whether it be through music or other entertainments, is the fuel for our hearts and souls. Our minds and the physicality’s of this world do matter, but we are nothing without steady and inspired hearts. Art gives this to us, courtesy of the artists who produce it. Kant states that if one has a passion for art, than it is his or her obligation to produce that art as a gift to society. Yet those who have said passions are living in fear of failure.
I myself aim to become a filmmaker. Creating stories has been a huge passion of mine since before puberty. This is in all details; its visuals, its storyline and its music in correlation with the emotions of particular scenarios in order to produce an intense feeling in the audience. However, this passion of mine is so deeply rooted that I began to realize I would have to do it all in order for it to come to life. That is, become a writer, director and a producer and somehow manage to get somewhere near the top in order to be noticed. With this realization during my teenage years, I lost all hope in pursuing it.
About a year ago, when I was twenty, I came to another realization. After praying long and hard about what God wanted me to do with my life for three steady years and receiving no answer, I realized he had already given me the answer. He made me with the heart and mind that I have and they obtain a strong passion for filmmaking as a means to express my art. That was my answer. It wasn’t a question of how incapable I am (very), how hard I have to work for it (alot) or the chances it will all work out (impossible). It was just a question of how God had made me and the passions he engraved in me. Regardless of what I can or cannot accomplish, anything can be done through him. I have decided to continue thinking that I cannot do it. The difference is, along with that thinking is the acknowledging that I will do more than my very best and with trust in God, his will will be done.
Still, after being on this road for so little time now, only being 21, the doubts of reality set in again. When I think about how many of my favorite artists never made it as far as they "thought" they would. But even in the midst’s of these doubts, God comforts me by telling me to shut up, work, and trust.
This is when I decided to get my first and only tattoo. I have wanted one for years but could never think of one to get. I was listening to a song by my favorite artist, Matt MacDonald of The Classic Crime, and was captured by some of the lyrics. Although the reason I decided to permanently engrave them onto my body may have been for different purposes than what the actual words in the song meant generally, I feel they subjectively apply perfectly. Those words are: "I will walk through the Fire, I will not be Afraid". The Classic Crime is a perfect example of what is demanded of art by the convictions their art has engraved on its listeners that has benefited society more than the band will ever fully know, sadly. I admire these men for fallowing, and succeeding in, their obligations and the gift they have given thousands of people. Those words proudly remain on me as a perpetual reminder that, although I know I am incapable, that it is going to be a long and hard road, that I will never live comfortably and that it may never come to life the way I want it to, as long as I work my best on it and trust in God, the outcome will be amazing and, more importantly, my life will be a happy one.
This is my obligation of Art...
No comments:
Post a Comment