This week I've been (not so) patiently awaiting the arrival of a book I ordered, Shambala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. As usual I missed the UPS man to sign for the package, and have had to wait the weekend for it, but hey that's the way it goes. It's a book that is on the Naropa University Art Therapy recommended reading list, which I have been chugging through in a dorky attempt to prepare for graduate school. I picked it up at the library the other day, and was inspired enough by the first 15 pages to make the purchase. The book is somewhat of a practical guide to mindful living based on an ancient code of Tibetan ethics. Chogyam Trungpa, one of the founders of Naropa, was a Tibetan Buddhist Monk who traveled to the West, starting meditation centers, spreading teachings, writing books, and in his words, bringing "art to everyday life."
I've been thinking a bit about what that really means in practice. For a many of us, art is this foreign thing that those weird people called artists do. We may have once picked up a marker or two, but most of our art materials are long gone, sold at some yard sale after it stopped being cool to color. But art, whether it's channeled through paint or photography or music or dance or cooking or speech, is really just an act of boldness inherent to all of us. After about second grade, we are taught that there is a certain way to draw or paint or play music...suddenly there is a right and a wrong way to make art. Most abandon the habit or stick to these strict rules, only to get frustrated or bored when they find no inspiration a few years later. Imagine though, if on that fateful day in elementary school, no one had told you your drawing of a tree really looked like an umbrella...maybe you would have gone on to develop your personal expressive skills in your own way. Any of you who have read Antoine de Saint Exupery's The Little Prince will remember the incident of the "hat" drawing... If not you should check it out here: http://www.angelfire.com/hi/littleprince/framechapter1.html
An artist is someone who is bold enough to notice what's going on around and within them, to realize that their experience has meaning, and to be free enough to express it in whatever way comes naturally. We all have this ability, and any honest expressive result is a valid one. I think when Trungpa writes of bringing art to everyday life, what he means is learning to live artistically--taking time to notice, take in fully, and release each new experience meaningfully.
-SK
For more information on Chogyam Trungpa check out: http://www.shambhala.org/teachers/chogyam-trungpa.php
I've been thinking a bit about what that really means in practice. For a many of us, art is this foreign thing that those weird people called artists do. We may have once picked up a marker or two, but most of our art materials are long gone, sold at some yard sale after it stopped being cool to color. But art, whether it's channeled through paint or photography or music or dance or cooking or speech, is really just an act of boldness inherent to all of us. After about second grade, we are taught that there is a certain way to draw or paint or play music...suddenly there is a right and a wrong way to make art. Most abandon the habit or stick to these strict rules, only to get frustrated or bored when they find no inspiration a few years later. Imagine though, if on that fateful day in elementary school, no one had told you your drawing of a tree really looked like an umbrella...maybe you would have gone on to develop your personal expressive skills in your own way. Any of you who have read Antoine de Saint Exupery's The Little Prince will remember the incident of the "hat" drawing... If not you should check it out here: http://www.angelfire.com/hi/littleprince/framechapter1.html
An artist is someone who is bold enough to notice what's going on around and within them, to realize that their experience has meaning, and to be free enough to express it in whatever way comes naturally. We all have this ability, and any honest expressive result is a valid one. I think when Trungpa writes of bringing art to everyday life, what he means is learning to live artistically--taking time to notice, take in fully, and release each new experience meaningfully.
-SK
For more information on Chogyam Trungpa check out: http://www.shambhala.org/teachers/chogyam-trungpa.php
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