(Click here to read an excerpt written by Ralph Waldo Emerson in 1838, which I found about 15 minutes after writing this post. Unbelievable. Obviously, while I try to write as simple as possible, Emerson doesn’t bother with that. He isn’t afraid to expound on his principles at length. Back then I guess folks had time to “think”.)
There is something about the arts that is true. Nobody can really tell you why they are important, but deep down, I think everyone senses they are.
The essential answer is beauty. When you work on the arts, you are faced with finding the truth. Truth is beautiful and it, like all things worth achieving, are difficult to unearth.
A lifetime spent without noticing beauty in our world and in ourselves is a misspent life. People love babies because they are essentially beautiful and true. Like a mother loves her baby, so should we love ourselves. Seeing the beauty in ourselves, in others and in the world is essential to happiness.
The arts are about removing the layers of life to bring forth the treasure buried within.
Sure there are other ways to be active in life, sports, business, your job, charity work and whatever else people can be involved in. But, unless you are working on an art form, it is difficult to find truth and beauty inside of yourself.
Deep waters are still and it takes stillness to feel the stable truth that beauty offers us.
Training for the arts gives us the techniques to mine for this beauty in ourselves. People are amazed by beauty but are often not really willing to work to create it for themselves. You can’t out-source it, it is something that requires your attention because it is you who will reap the rewards.
The arts promote beauty…
- in the mind
- in the heart
- in the world.
Arts are important, maybe the most important thing we can do.