Facing Your Fears In An Uncertain World

We live in uncertain times. But people have always lived in uncertain times. If there wasn't the threat of war, there was the threat of famine, or plague, or some sort of catastrophe. Today we turn on the news, or go on the internet, and we are assaulted with instant reporting of frightening events around the globe. It seems like madness is everywhere. But it's always been that way, it's just that now we are able to see things live and in surround sound on a big screen, safe in our own homes. But are we really safe? Or are we just frightened by this instant connection to the world around us.

 As artists, we face fears everyday:

Will my work be rejected? 
Will I be inspired and creative today? 
Will somebody steal my ideas? 
Will somebody get more publicity or shows than me?
Will I be able to make enough money and pay my bills?
Will the world continue to fall all around me?

 Many of these fears are real, but some of them are magnified out of proportion by today's instant 24/7 connected world. 

 The Antidote to Fear

 The antidote to fear is to keep on working. Keep putting yourself out there everyday. If you give up and sit in a corner, nothing good will happen and all your fears will come true. Keep practicing your craft. Get out those brushes, your dancing shoes, that old typewriter, your saxophone. Get them out and plunge once again into your artistic world. Connect with your spirit and create.

 Remember, even if what you do connects to only one person, you may have changed their life for the better. Keep working, keep connecting. If a million of us do that each day, imagine how many connections are made and how many lives are changed. And the effect is cumulative, building up, growing—one connection, then two, then ten, then twenty, then 100, then 5,000, and on and on.

 When all you can see is doubt and fear, remember your art as a spiritual practice, and why you ever started on this amazing journey.

~ MB
Art for Spirit's Sake / Spirit for Art's Sake




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Art In Uncertain Times

Image
While we always seem to live in uncertain times, today, with the Corona virus sweeping around the world, things are even more uncertain. The end of the world as we know it. Businesses are closed. Events are canceled. People are being asked to stay home and avoid contact with others. If you are a performing artist, this is especially difficult, as you are not able to go out into the world and present your art. Not being able to perform means not making any money. And that make an already difficult situation even more so for most of us. Many artists are barely able to keep ahead of the bills as is.  And in the grand scheme of things, we, the ordinary people,   appear to have little control over what is happening.  But we have control of our art. In dire times, artists continued to create. Artists also continued to tell the truth. When all around you  seems to be crashing down, you still have your art, so continue to create because at times like these we...
Read more

Everything changes, nothing remains without change

Image
The title, "Everything changes, nothing remains without change" , is a quote attributed to the Buddha. And so it is that our world is made of impermanence. There have been changes in my life since the whole Covid lockdown, one of which is letting my old blogs go. Over the course of 11 years, I wrote and published 730 posts across 4 different blogs!  That's a lot of writing.  That's a lot of transmission and communication.  That's a major part of my life. But that was then, the past. Today, new shoots have sprouted from the seeds that I planted. My YouTube channel is going strong, with a weekly video. And I have recently moved my efforts to Patreon , where I have a new blog , exclusive videos, exclusive audio, Zoom calls, and other transmissions based around my work as a writer and musician. If you've read any of these blogs here, then you know what I'm all about, so I invite you to meet me over on Patreon, where I can actually get paid something for all t...
Read more