BrainShelf

I define art as having nothing at all to do with painting. Art is a human act, a generous contribution, something that might not work, and it is intended to change the recipient for the better, often causing a connection to happen. Five elements that are difficult to find and worth seeking out. Human, generous, risky, change and connection. You can be perfect or you can make art. You can keep track of what you get in return, or you can make art. You can enjoy the status quo, or you can make art. The most difficult part might be in choosing whether you want to make art at all, and committing to what it requires of you.

I don't think we have a calling. I do think it's possible to have a caring. A calling implies that there's just one thing for you, just one thing you're supposed to do. What we most need in our lives, though, is something worth doing, worth it because we care. There are plenty of forces pushing us to not care. Bosses, systems, bureaucracies and the fear of mattering. None of them are worth sacrificing something as important as caring.

To be actually trapped is to have no options, no choices, no possible outcomes other than the one you fear. Most of the time, when we think we're trapped, we're actually unhappy with the short-term consequences of making a choice. Make the choice, own the outcome and you can start in a new place. This is often frightening and painful, which is one reason it might be easier to pretend that we're actually trapped.

(...) discovery is exhausting. Putting on a new pair of glasses, seeing the world or hearing the world or understanding the world in a new way is a lot more work than merely cruising through a typical day.

The enemy of creativity...is fear. We're all born creative, it takes a little while to become afraid. A surprising insight: an enemy of fear is creativity. Acting in a creative way generates action, and action persuades the fear to lighten up.The enemy of creativity...is fear. We're all born creative, it takes a little while to become afraid. A surprising insight: an enemy of fear is creativity. Acting in a creative way generates action, and action persuades the fear to lighten up.

Muscles without strength, friendship without trust, opinion without risk, change without aesthetics, age without values, food without nourishment, power without fairness, facts without rigor, degrees without erudition, militarism without fortitude, progress without civilization, complication without depth, fluency without conten; these are the sins to remember.