I have a wonderful friend who loves the arts, but her habit of comparing dismays me. When she enjoys something, it always seems to have a ranking. "You shoulda heard the concert I went to last month. It was way better than this CD we're listening to." Or, "These paintings are almost as good as the ones in the gallery next door." Or, "This novelist is so much better than that other writer."I really believe that art is to be enjoyed in the moment, just as it should be created in the moment. One should not get caught up comparing the moments of one's life rather than living them. In the same way, just "being with" a piece of art, gives it a unique beauty that lives all on its own. If anything, comparing lessens the joy of the experience.
Examine something you've written - without comparing it to anything else.
Well said...and I'm forever reminding myself that the glass is half full, things could always be worse, and a half dozen little truisms that help me take a moment each day to be still and take a look at how fortunate I am to be where I am, how I am, and who I am at this very moment.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this post.
Oh, I SO agree.
ReplyDeleteI think it's one of the most stifling things we do to our creative voices.
I hear "I'm not an artist" (or writer or whatever) from people all the time and as it turns out, it usually has nothing to do with their talent level! It's a think schools do to us very young and I think our society is built around comparisons.
I try to remind people that whatever it is they need to express, only THEY can express and forget about whatever anyone else is expressing (except to be inspired or appreciative..but never as a reason to not create!)
Thanks for this great reminder. So important.:)