(from addair)

Today I’m feeling underestimated and underappreciated.  I say this not to inspire pity.  Please, don’t pity me.  Rather, I’m saying to that emotion, “Thank you for the alert, I’ve taken notice.  Now will you kindly leave so that I can go about growing”.

Though it isn’t pleasant to feel this way, it is a good warning signal.  I feel this way because I got out my measuring cup and let them measure my brain (recall the Andrew Bird song).  This was my first mistake.  My second was to use a state-issued cup; I forgot that “it is no measure of health to be well-adjusted to a profoundly sick society.”(Jiddu Krishnamurt)

I get frustrated that market demand and broken infrastructure drives so much of our output and the way we spend our time.  This morning I was thinking about the limitations of artists and feeling angry and then I remembered that we don’t have to use their measuring cups.  A human life is too precious to be squandered on meeting the arbitrary standards of a society.

this is a picture of me and my mom when she came to visit in new york. today is her birthday (happy birthday, mom). she taught and teaches me that there's no such thing as being too idealistic

 

 

We need to make art (I’m using this term in its broadest sense), even if no one recognizes it as valuable.  Even if no one buys it, ever.  We need to do this and to fight for this right with all the fervor of a revolution.  Our greatest energy should be allowed to move toward making meaning,  to work for justice, and enjoy the fruit of being.

At this point, most people pat me on the head, “Okay, little idealist bunny.  You’ll grow up and see that there are bills to pay.”  And there are.   There are too many, and that is problem.  We have created a system that rejects simplicity and the freedom that entails for a tangle of commerce.  We’ve created it, but we don’t control it; and now we are trapped.

a painting on the matter. this one is a reflection back to new york. i think it was there that many of these thoughts were solidified.

 

 

But only  if we play by its rules.   And this is why we can’t wait for society to deem us artists.  We must claim our legitimacy to make art with our first energy whether or not the larger society agrees to its value.

Be grassroots, do direct action, and when you feel underappreciated– break your measuring cup and make a mosaic out the shards.