Beautiful and lovely and we forget, because it's pervasive like smog, that we are drowning in capital. How capital is a lens that defines our value, our morals, our way of being--how have you been productive today? What is your worth? What are you "spending" your time? All of these questions flow through capital. It has its own logic, it regiments and controls lives. Art lives outside that; humans need to keep their heart outside of it because life and space are fluid, constantly moving and the beating heart of life is this.
Perfectly said, Nina. When I first decided to become a writer, a friend of my parents took me aside and told me I should study the top five best-selling novels and then do exactly what they did. He was talking about product development, not writing as I wanted to do it (to get close to the beating heart of life you mention). I think on our death beds, we're likely to be more proud of the stories we wrote truthfully and bravely than the ones that were "successful" on other levels.
Speaking of success: I recently joined Linkedin, my first social media account, where success is measured in dollars and followers. The word success is mentioned so often that I wonder if anybody remembers its meaning. Perhaps it’s always been measured by superficialities. I've been a recluse for so long. The other thing I learned since joining Linkedin is that too many people claim to be writers who can't write. Writing content and literature are far different. Success isn't the only word that has lost meaning. Still, if you claim to be a writer, you should know how to use a comma and that platitudes are banal.
Beautiful and lovely and we forget, because it's pervasive like smog, that we are drowning in capital. How capital is a lens that defines our value, our morals, our way of being--how have you been productive today? What is your worth? What are you "spending" your time? All of these questions flow through capital. It has its own logic, it regiments and controls lives. Art lives outside that; humans need to keep their heart outside of it because life and space are fluid, constantly moving and the beating heart of life is this.
Perfectly said, Nina. When I first decided to become a writer, a friend of my parents took me aside and told me I should study the top five best-selling novels and then do exactly what they did. He was talking about product development, not writing as I wanted to do it (to get close to the beating heart of life you mention). I think on our death beds, we're likely to be more proud of the stories we wrote truthfully and bravely than the ones that were "successful" on other levels.
Grant,
And it's a commitment to that desire, which involves a risk of leaving the known behind, that creates a meaningful existence.
Thank you, again, for a relevant and important discussion.
Nina
Speaking of success: I recently joined Linkedin, my first social media account, where success is measured in dollars and followers. The word success is mentioned so often that I wonder if anybody remembers its meaning. Perhaps it’s always been measured by superficialities. I've been a recluse for so long. The other thing I learned since joining Linkedin is that too many people claim to be writers who can't write. Writing content and literature are far different. Success isn't the only word that has lost meaning. Still, if you claim to be a writer, you should know how to use a comma and that platitudes are banal.
Yes to this: "The word success is mentioned so often that I wonder if anybody remembers its meaning." We have to be in control of its meaning for us.