The idea that captivates my imagination is this: why do people make art? There are so many different answers to that question; some of them contradictory. It's fascinating to me to see why people create things—and also what they do with them afterwards, or what culture does with them. A related question is "why does the culture save some art, and forget other art?"
I love what you asked ... why do people make art... because I am an artist and often get asked about being an artist. I just live and breath the beauty of what I try to capture on canvas. I believe it shows others the beauty that can be seen if they will choose to look!
James Clear recently asked his followers what beliefs they've adopted that have made their lives easier. Here are two I shared in response:
1. Think like a designer and reframe problems as opportunities.
Said another way: find the good in every situation.
(Inspired by one of my top life-changing books: Designing Your Life: How To Build A Well-Lived, Joyful Life)
2. The “cracks” in life are what let the light in. So embrace pain, challenges, and imperfections as opportunities to learn and grow. That’s how we become the people we’re meant to be.
Fascinated by the seldom reflected upon phenomenon of projection and the tendency for humans to project their own shadows and disowned blindspots unto others. Musing on this was sparked in part by a recent essay by Arman Khodadoost who writes The Curious Contrarian. The thought that came into my head after reading his essay was, "After 20 years I've come to the conclusion that marriage is a long process of trying to change another person in all the ways you yourself should be different."
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and inspirations this way – I will keep thinking about them!
Happy to share 3 ideas that have inspired and interested me lately:
- Cosmopoesis
Cosmopoesis means world-building, and historically refers to how thinkers in medieval times or Renaissance invented their worlds through utopias, magic, science, art, etc. But we also have contemporary figures like Steve Jobs or Phil Knight of Nike have had cosmopoetic visions, for example Knight's vision of "building a world where you can be a weekend warrior", or maybe even RFK Jr. slogan "Let's make Americans great again" (instead of America). The idea here is that we all more than ever need a new cosmopoetic vision – not just for this country, but in fact for all of humanity and for this world's future. One that can make space for ALL of us.
- Cartesian Catastrophe
It's been quite serendipitous, but I have read a lot lately about Cartesian thinking (or reductionism/materialism) since Plato, Galileo, Descartes and how this groundbreaking dualism that it established has actually have deeply backfired on us. Meaning that the separation of body and mind (or soul) has led to a deep disconnect with our animate intelligence (see also right hemisphere) and nature/life on Earth – Arthur Koestler called this the "Cartesian Catastrophe". Can we (re?)discover new strands of meaning and could this possibly (and hopefully) eventually lead to an internal Renaissance?
- Bright Sadness
I am interested in the idea of sober happiness or bright sadness; it refers to the human condition of feeling these opposing emotions in surprising situations: when we listen to sad/minor key music, when thinking about aging, maybe even when we go through acute emotional hardship at a funeral.
Your "Bright Sadness" idea is very interesting. I've felt that feeling; it's like a wistful joy, or the enjoyment of something you know won't last. The feeling of watching one's children grow up, perhaps.
...curious to know if the future of majority knowledge is summarized regurgitative A.I. based re-info and/or if we can make A.I. psychedelic/creative enough to post knowledge expansions [ie; travel, fiction, philosophy] instead of knowledge distractions [anything i do with my iphone]...
I forget who said it maybe Derek Sivers. The saying it doesn’t have to be true to be helpful. Reality is subjective anyway and we layer our interpretations so might as well put a filter on events that gets us to our goals even if it’s not the most accurate one.
I recently finished The Campaigns of Napoleon by David Chandler and it’s got me quite obsessed with the warfare of the period and also the character of Napoleon - his opportunism and ability to exploit the instability in France as well as the surprising loyalty he inspired. His rise and fall is practically Shakespearean.
I’ve always been obsessed with learning languages. There’s a surprising connection between it and mental health, at least in my experience.
Since I can now choose to think in Spanish on command, I’ve become much, much more aware of all my thoughts in general.
And instead of getting lost in a series of running anxious thoughts for example, I’m able to just watch them. And see them for what they are: just thoughts. Ones that come and go. I’m not so attached to them. I’m a witness of them.
There’s a separation between me and my monkey mind.
This is a state people talk about achieving through meditation, and I do meditate sometimes, which also can be great.
I am interested in getting better at observing my ego vs. my self, read a lot (but should practice them more!) about the mind, meditation techniques, consciousness etc., but I never looked at it through the lens of languages. Speaking a few languages, I will try this and see if this can help me with the separation.
It's a mess haha! And it is still hard for me to actually recapitulate after dreaming which language "got applied". But it is for sure a mix of English and German – how about you?
The idea that captivates my imagination is this: why do people make art? There are so many different answers to that question; some of them contradictory. It's fascinating to me to see why people create things—and also what they do with them afterwards, or what culture does with them. A related question is "why does the culture save some art, and forget other art?"
I love what you asked ... why do people make art... because I am an artist and often get asked about being an artist. I just live and breath the beauty of what I try to capture on canvas. I believe it shows others the beauty that can be seen if they will choose to look!
James Clear recently asked his followers what beliefs they've adopted that have made their lives easier. Here are two I shared in response:
1. Think like a designer and reframe problems as opportunities.
Said another way: find the good in every situation.
(Inspired by one of my top life-changing books: Designing Your Life: How To Build A Well-Lived, Joyful Life)
2. The “cracks” in life are what let the light in. So embrace pain, challenges, and imperfections as opportunities to learn and grow. That’s how we become the people we’re meant to be.
(Inspired by Leonard Cohen’s quote which I wrote about here: https://alexandraallen.substack.com/p/theres-a-crack-in-everything-thats?r=nb7od&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post & Brianna Wiest’s words in her book The Truth About Everything).
Fascinated by the seldom reflected upon phenomenon of projection and the tendency for humans to project their own shadows and disowned blindspots unto others. Musing on this was sparked in part by a recent essay by Arman Khodadoost who writes The Curious Contrarian. The thought that came into my head after reading his essay was, "After 20 years I've come to the conclusion that marriage is a long process of trying to change another person in all the ways you yourself should be different."
Hi Charlie,
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and inspirations this way – I will keep thinking about them!
Happy to share 3 ideas that have inspired and interested me lately:
- Cosmopoesis
Cosmopoesis means world-building, and historically refers to how thinkers in medieval times or Renaissance invented their worlds through utopias, magic, science, art, etc. But we also have contemporary figures like Steve Jobs or Phil Knight of Nike have had cosmopoetic visions, for example Knight's vision of "building a world where you can be a weekend warrior", or maybe even RFK Jr. slogan "Let's make Americans great again" (instead of America). The idea here is that we all more than ever need a new cosmopoetic vision – not just for this country, but in fact for all of humanity and for this world's future. One that can make space for ALL of us.
- Cartesian Catastrophe
It's been quite serendipitous, but I have read a lot lately about Cartesian thinking (or reductionism/materialism) since Plato, Galileo, Descartes and how this groundbreaking dualism that it established has actually have deeply backfired on us. Meaning that the separation of body and mind (or soul) has led to a deep disconnect with our animate intelligence (see also right hemisphere) and nature/life on Earth – Arthur Koestler called this the "Cartesian Catastrophe". Can we (re?)discover new strands of meaning and could this possibly (and hopefully) eventually lead to an internal Renaissance?
- Bright Sadness
I am interested in the idea of sober happiness or bright sadness; it refers to the human condition of feeling these opposing emotions in surprising situations: when we listen to sad/minor key music, when thinking about aging, maybe even when we go through acute emotional hardship at a funeral.
Your "Bright Sadness" idea is very interesting. I've felt that feeling; it's like a wistful joy, or the enjoyment of something you know won't last. The feeling of watching one's children grow up, perhaps.
...curious to know if the future of majority knowledge is summarized regurgitative A.I. based re-info and/or if we can make A.I. psychedelic/creative enough to post knowledge expansions [ie; travel, fiction, philosophy] instead of knowledge distractions [anything i do with my iphone]...
I forget who said it maybe Derek Sivers. The saying it doesn’t have to be true to be helpful. Reality is subjective anyway and we layer our interpretations so might as well put a filter on events that gets us to our goals even if it’s not the most accurate one.
I recently finished The Campaigns of Napoleon by David Chandler and it’s got me quite obsessed with the warfare of the period and also the character of Napoleon - his opportunism and ability to exploit the instability in France as well as the surprising loyalty he inspired. His rise and fall is practically Shakespearean.
Hey Charlie. Really enjoy your blog.
I’ve always been obsessed with learning languages. There’s a surprising connection between it and mental health, at least in my experience.
Since I can now choose to think in Spanish on command, I’ve become much, much more aware of all my thoughts in general.
And instead of getting lost in a series of running anxious thoughts for example, I’m able to just watch them. And see them for what they are: just thoughts. Ones that come and go. I’m not so attached to them. I’m a witness of them.
There’s a separation between me and my monkey mind.
This is a state people talk about achieving through meditation, and I do meditate sometimes, which also can be great.
Learning languages is just so fun. And hilarious.
This is interesting, 'Jefe'!
I am interested in getting better at observing my ego vs. my self, read a lot (but should practice them more!) about the mind, meditation techniques, consciousness etc., but I never looked at it through the lens of languages. Speaking a few languages, I will try this and see if this can help me with the separation.
Hey Brigitte, that’s cool, I like reading stuff like that too. What languages do you speak?
German, English, French, Italian
That’s impressive. Do you ever dream in the other languages? That’s always a wild experience.
It's a mess haha! And it is still hard for me to actually recapitulate after dreaming which language "got applied". But it is for sure a mix of English and German – how about you?
I had a crazy one recently where someone was talking to me in Spanish and switched to Italian and I was like woahhhhh