Love's Hand at Work in a World of Wonders

On making art as an act of devotion, being a conduit for the greater Flow, our beautiful interdependence, and the wonder of patterns

Photo by Torbjørn Helgesen on Unsplash

Art is a kind of innate drive that seizes a human being and makes him its instrument. The artist is not a person endowed with free will who seeks his own ends, but one who allows art to realize its purpose through him. As a human being he may have moods and a will and personal aims, but as an artist he is “man” in a higher sense — he is “collective man” — one who carries and shapes the unconscious, psychic life of mankind. —Carl Jung
(This quote was found in The Marginalian)

Independence or Interdependence?

Here in the United States, it is Independence Day. A day you may be feeling conflicted about.

On this day, we celebrate our long-ago, hard-won freedom from a distant, greedy monarchy that cared little for the citizens of this land. (Though, after winning our freedom, we continued to care not at all for the indigenous, original inhabitants here.) Meanwhile, today, greedy, tyrannical behavior that cares little for the citizens is running rampant in our government.

Couple that with the way patriotism can rapidly turn into ugly nationalism, a me versus them attitude that sees other countries as inferior. (For a helpful, brief elucidation of the difference between healthy patriotism and dangerous nationalism, check this out.) I’d rather carry an Earth flag than a flag of my country.

I often choose on this day to celebrate interdependence, rather than independence. The idea that we all need each other, and that all of life is intricately interwoven in a symbiotic web. That we are, as the quantum physicists and mystics tell us, all One Being.

So, today I want to talk about how we can use our creativity to serve that One Being, to foster our wellness and help us dream forward the new visions and stories that can guide us to create a better way of life on Earth for all. Because artists have always been the forerunners of culture, the vision-keepers and way-showers.

Photo by Styvo Putra Sid on Unsplash

Art as Loving Service to a Greater Flow

Today, I invite you to consider a shift in perspective on the role of the artist and the purpose of art-making. I invite you to open to a view that runs counter to the self-validating, self-expressing, self-aggrandizing drive behind so many of our pursuits in contemporary culture. The gnawing “look at me, love me” urge of the ego. The pursuit of clicks, likes, and followers amid the utterly confusing and soul-sucking world of algorithms that is foisted on us by the commercialization of creativity.

Let’s consider this instead: What if making art is about being in service to something much larger than your small self and allowing that something to pour through you as best you can?

Instead of trying to figure out what you have to say and seeking some striking, original vision that will be applauded, why not shift the lens to listen or feel for what wants to come through you? The new vision, the new stories that are seeking a conduit. That already exist in the collective unconscious, waiting to be born. Those that will guide us to new and ancient ways of being that foster a beautiful, beneficial way of life for All.

What comes through you will likely seem full of flaws. But what if it isn’t about you? What if it isn’t about how good or bad you are as an artist or human? It isn’t about how amazing your ideas or talent are. It isn’t about being loved or approved of or getting to belong. What if, instead, it’s about letting this beautiful, wild, unruly spirit flow through onto the page, stage, canvas, or film, into the stone, metal, clay, or fabric?

Consider this: You are serving the whole of Life that has chosen to call this thing forth and is asking you to be the conduit. That’s the origin of the creative impulse or urge you feel. That’s the longing, the hunger to pick up the brush or pen or instrument.

That, and even more, the way that making art as an act of love transforms you, changes the way you move through your days.

Will you do it? Will you surrender happily to this calling?

And then, humbly let your creations go into the world that needs them and not worry them to death, nit-pick them to death, fret over whether they’re good enough or whether you are worthy enough or whether you’ll be loved for it.

This is what loving devotion to art and world can look like. Not an obsession with self-expression and self-value.

What if expression doesn’t really belong to the small self anyway? What if it belongs to the collective that needs it now. Yes, you have a unique way of expressing the One Source flowing through you. But you don’t have to get hung up on that uniqueness. And, you don’t have to know why the world needs your art or how it’s going to make a difference. Just bow down happily and make the thing. And then, let it go out in the world. Share it with at least one other person.

See how it feels to be in service to this flow, rather than concerned with self. And remember to enjoy it. Don’t get too serious about it. That’s just the ego seizing control again. Remember to let it be loving service, joyful service, even playful service. It’s okay to have fun, to feel good while you serve this voice and vision that is seeking willing channels. It’s okay to make mistakes and messes and try things on. To not know what you’re doing. Just your willingness to serve, to play, to open to the Flow is enough.

Today, like every other day, we wake up empty
and frightened. Don’t open the door to the study
and begin reading. Take down a musical instrument.

Let the beauty we love be what we do.
There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.

—from The Essential Rumi, translations by Coleman Barks with John Moyne

From the Wonder Factory

This week, I’ve been playing with drawing patterns inspired by the natural world, including “slow drawing” patterns, learned from Amy Maricle, and my own invented patterns. It’s absolutely addictive. When I wake up in the middle of the night, I see patterns in my head and often have to restrain myself from jumping up and drawing.

Here are a few. Next week, I’ll begin collaging some of these bits I’ve been making into something. I don’t know what!

the top pattern was inspired by strange flowers I saw at a restaurant; the next one by our dinner plates

Below, I’ll share have a menu of four juicy Wonder Sparks for you to play with. Find the one(s) that call to you and give them a try. Bring more creativity, play, wonder, and soul into your life through these small acts. I’ll also share a couple of tidbits of my own creative writing, inspired by two of these Sparks.

Wonder Sparks are one of the perks of being a paid subscriber, one way I say “Thank you!” for supporting me and my work. If you’d like to hop on board and access these weekly Sparks and more, become a paid subscriber today. It’s so affordable!