ESSENCE - Part I

The Alpha and Omega of it ALL

ESSENCE (Part I)

The Alpha and Omega of it ALL

Our greatest gurus live among and within us.

As so-called adults, infants confound us with their raw childishness. Free expression, vulnerability, spontaneous mood shifts, and unselfconscious behavior challenge our ordinary (accustomed/conditioned) thoughts and disrupt our lives. 

As they quickly grow through the toddler stage and into childhood their brilliance shines brightly. They are beacons of what we once knew and have mostly forgotten.

Our sense of. . . 

WONDER

The distinction between childish and childlike is easily lost on us. It, like many critical distinctions, is desensitized in us. These distinctions do not serve the abject compliance that the dominant producer/consumer social systems require and advertise incessantly.

The price is heavy. We live less than fully alive lives, and believe it is the grown-up and responsible thing to do. We, if we’re honest, are afraid to stray too far from what’s acceptable and remunerated.

Many of us, nevertheless, feel an inkling that we have been had. We remember childhood. It is impossible to wholly separate us from the most fertile learning time we’ve ever experienced.

Listen to Pops. Remember?

Childishness carries a negative connotation. It’s associated with selfishness, immaturity, and irresponsibility. We must contain it. 

Family (with well iintended though rare exception) and school (with almost no exception) take every step possible to diminish these qualities. Not without some good purpose. We don’t want to live in a world of tantrum throwing, unregulated, and emotionally erratic people. Right?

Childish people live trapped in short-term-thinking and display limited regard for and an inadequate ability to wholeheartedly respond to the needs of other persons.

It is tragic that in the clumsy process of ‘civilizing’ our children the wonders of childlike brilliance get trashed. 

We, as persons and as a culture, pay a heavy price. 

Today, as life writ large changes dramatically, we are in danger of forfeiting essential human creativity, our core source of collective compassion and humanity.

“What seems to me the great American danger we're all in is that we'll bargain away the experience of being alive for the appearance of it." ~Mike Nichols

CHILDREN AS CREATIVE LEADERS

Childlike qualities are key to our capacity to thrive and heal a world threatened by childishness. A profound irony.

Listen to Louis Armstrong again as he suggests what a world of wonder looks like. See in him the clear personification of childlike qualities expressed in the song.   

- Openness and innocence

- An ability to see life with curiosity

- The capacity to find fresh perspectives

- A sense of awe and joy and appreciation

Let yourself feel these qualities as a reflection of Louis Armstrong as he reminds us that, with childlike perspective, “It’s A Wonderful World.”

There remains a child within you that remembers wonder, remembers a connection to each other and to something larger than ourselves, remembers a desire to explore, learn, and connect.

We, in our childlike hearts, want deep connection. 

We want to live alive, courageously inspired to engage life and its inspirational mysteries.

“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all art and science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead; his eyes are closed.” ~Albert Einstein 

We all too readily trade imagination for ‘reality,’ as if they constituted a binary. Only one at a time. 

Nothing could be further from the truth. Imagination and reality are inseparable, inextricably entwined. You can’t have one without the other.

“Realism is a bad word. In a sense everything is realistic. I see no line between the imaginary and the real.” ~Federico Fellini

Wonder invites a sense of discovery and surprise by opening us to the unexpected. 

Wonder encourages us to see life not merely as a series of tasks or routines but as a series of delightful experiences waiting to be discovered.

LET’S GO TO THE MOVIES

I’ve found no more inspiring a film to celebrate delight and wonder than “Willie Wonka And The Chocolate Factory.”

Those who have been reading ACTING HUMAN for a while know well that I crave milkshakes. Often my fix is chocolate flavored.

While I’m not a fan of homework as such, I nevertheless (strongly) suggest that you view “Willie Wonka,” which is available on several of your favorite streaming services.

I’m certain we’re all keen to have your impressions after viewing. What did you see? How did you feel? In what ways did the film amplify ACTING HUMAN?

Think of the ‘assignment,’ and this new approach to ACTING HUMAN, as confectionary offerings. Tasty, easy to digest gifts, meant to inspire the art of living. 

For those who occasionally want a heavy meal, there are nearly fifty posts preceding this one. Each of which will keep you chewing until your jaw cramps with plenty of chow left on the plate to stock a bulging doggy bag. I’m always available in comments to respond to questions and observations.

Making art of any kind takes practice. 

ACTING HUMAN practice uses theater craft as a model for and a means to learn and use intentional creativity in daily life. You are welcome to reread the last post, OVER(re)VIEW. The value of iteration in learning is inestimable. We are here to learn (unlearn?) together.

As we nurture the art of living life alive we heighten vitality and enlarge humanity in these fragile times. 

Never has the need been greater for ACTING HUMAN. 

We must create a world in which empathy, compassion, genuine care, dynamic connection give rise to joy and peace with sufficient utz to animate our world. 

Art is the antidote to indifference, inhumanity, and senseless destruction.

“A child's attitude toward everything is an artist's attitude."  ~Willa Cather

Until next time. . .

Lights Up!