Mary Dauterman
To Create Meaningfully
"Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own
life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must
show."
First sentence, David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens
As humans we all
seek to find happiness, meaning, and worth through our experiences. We must
learn to shape our journeys according to our passions in order to be fulfilled
and lead purposeful lives. I
strive to utilize my passion for creativity to bring joy to others and inspire
compassion between individuals.
To
inspire and to lead, we must find our heroes within, cultivate these features
of ourselves, and accept the challenge of bettering the world and bettering
ourselves. All humans have potential for great goodness, but also great evil.
In East of Eden, Steinbeck says:
Humans
are caughtÉin a net of good and evil. É A man, after he has brushed off the
dust and chips of his life, will have left only the hard, clean question: Was
it good or was it evil? Have I done well—or ill?
Thus it is the way we live our lives, the choices we make, the selfish desires we either pursue or repress, that shape the outcome of our lives. As members of the human race, we must learn to outweigh the bad with the good, to improve our Òmixture of positive and negative qualities.Ó [1] Through embracing others, warding off selfishness, and perfecting our Òenlightened qualities,Ó [2] we can become closer to our ultimate potentials, closer to hero-dom.
My personal
potential, my leadership path, is inevitably tied to my passion for creativity.
And in order to find happiness in my future life, I know I must continue to
create, to experience the joy of making something and sharing it with others on
a regular basis. I do not know how I will specifically achieve this goal, but
this is the way in which I strive to compassionately communicate with others,
to add unity to our slowly fragmenting world. While I want to be involved with
art on a personal level, in order to make a difference I must find a way to
utilize my art as a tool for connecting with others. And to leave my mark on
the world I need to create meaningfully. According
to Silverman, Òart resonates with us in ways other media donÕt and
perhaps canÕtÉwe are visual creatures. We see millions of things every single
day and in so doing rely heavily on our sight.Ó[3]
Thus, I do believe art can make a difference. Countless painters, sculptors,
and architects are immortalized through their works, but will I one day be
remembered too? Can I leave a legacy behind? Can I impact the world?
One artistic
figure who impacted his world was Antonio Gaud’, an inspiration to artists
everywhere. Gaud’ was an artist with an original view of the world, able to
achieve a balance between communicating his creativity and the meaning behind
it. He saw buildings, shapes, and nature as one and was able to fuse the three
together, creating the legendary buildings that serve as his gift to the world
and his legacy. I admire Gaud’ because he did not simply create these works for
utility or even aesthetic purposes; he had deeper messages to share with the
world, and he succeeded in doing so. He wanted to remind man how to see the
world purely, how to relate back to nature and view it as important. He also
used his works to communicate spiritual, patriotic, and religious messages.
Thus, Gaud’Õs buildings do not stand in silence: they hold truths, they ask
questions, they communicate with the world. It is easy to create meaningless,
empty art. But true leaders, true visionaries, have the ability to create art
that holds value. I have learned f
rom
Gaud’ that I can create something that matters, that shares a story, that makes
a positive difference. Following Gaud’Õs example, I must have faith in myself
and faith in mankind. I must compassionately connect with others. I hope to
find a way to turn my passion to create into the ability to communicate meaning
and better the world. While I have not found many Òtruths,Ó I want to share the
importance of compassion with the world.
Gaud’ was able to find the strength and
motivation to create through his faith. It was his strong connection with
religion and nature that served to enlighten people, that continues to spark
imaginations and ideas. For example, Gaud’ undertook the Sagrada Familia
project, knowingly aware he would never see his finished product. His faith in
God and manÕs ability to persevere and overcome the limitations of time still
act as catalysts fueling the project to this day. Gaud’ also had faith that he
would truly make a difference. This allowed him to transcend the limitations of
his own ego, working towards something greater than himself, finding truths and
translating them into art. He left a path so that others could follow his steps
towards a better earth.
Following
Gaud’Õs example, I must learn to deepen my faith across various aspects of my
life and become a more compassionate being before I can truly make a
difference. The first step is to find faith in mankind as a whole—in
manÕs innate abilities to do good, to recognize truths, and to connect with
others. I must find faith in the potential for pure goodness and happiness.
Only after achieving such faith can I begin to better myself. I need to make
sense of all that I see and perceive, to enhance and define my vision. This will
help me become a more imaginative person and more capable of expressing myself
visually, thus fostering my ability to connect with others—to share
ideas, thoughts and visions. After finding faith and intrinsically bettering
myself, I can further improve my connections with others by becoming a more
compassionate being.
I can learn to grow in compassion, to solidify my values, and become a more selfless person. The interaction between individuals, the compassion formed from these bonds, is what invigorates life and builds the world. Life consists of a series of exchanges, and we must stop and realize the obvious: if we are to take a little from those we interact with, we must give a little back. We are constantly sharing stories, thoughts, art, music, seeking to form bonds and connect ourselves, becoming part of the greater human experience. But to be truly connected, Dass says Òseparateness [must] dissolve and we are united in compassion.Ó [4] It is not difficult to become Òunited in compassion,Ó connected with each other, as long as we put our egos in perspective. Gaud’Õs life is an example of the suppression of the ego; through his search to become part of something greater, he followed DassÕ examination that Òto forget the Self is to be enlightened by all things.Ó [5] To become truly enlightened, I must understand others, and by understanding others, make a mark on the world. This union is one of the most important aspects towards becoming my ideal self: an ethical visionary.
To
become this ideal self, my life may take many roads—I could concentrate
on traditional art studies, photography, or on print media. At this point, I
have chosen print media because it is something people see every day; however,
it is an art form that often goes unnoticed. Print media is everything from the
posters people walk by to the magazines they flip through. It is a powerful
tool because it is something people are constantly exposed to and actively participate in, unknowingly or not.
The effectiveness of this media depends on the viewerÕs recognition,
connection, and perception. For this reason, it is also a very sensitive
area—I must be compassionate and ethical, connecting with people on a
deeper level and sharing truths rather than falsities. By influencing what people
see every day, I can undoubtedly make an impact and leave behind impressions,
thoughts, and beliefs. Print media is a means through which I can leave my
legacy behind.
While I hope to
leave behind a series of visual statements as my legacy, I hope my life can
also serve as a message. I want to create something that will affect others
positively, to be compassionate, to inspire. Bump prompts us, Òto what extent
have you transcended the accidents of being born in a particular place and
time?Ó [6]
With the restraints of time and place dissolved, I hope my individual journey
can be seen as noble, meaningful, and possibly heroic. Additionally, by the
point my time on earth has ended, I want to have lived out SteinbeckÕs
philosophy of doing Ògood.Ó But in order to make a difference beyond doing
ÒgoodÓ or being ÒgoodÓ I have to make some kind of positive change in the world
around me, to leave it better than how I found it. We have ÒpotentialÉalready
present in all of us;Ó [7]
the challenge is finding what insights this potential. I have found potential
in my passion to create, and hopefully it will continue to fuel me.
Total Words: 1528
Quotes: 148
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