Thought of the Day 02.02.09

When someone learns an art form, they always go through essentially the same progression: First, functional knowledge. Then, accurate performance. And finally, beauty.

In music, the child first learns the basics of the instrument. Then he learns to play a selection of pieces without making any errors. But eventually, the goal is to transcend the idea of correct notes and start interpreting the music and bringing it alive for an audience to be moved by it.

In art, the students learns to hold the brush and how colors interact. Then he learns to paint a variety of simple images in a way that reflects reality. But eventually, the goal is to paint in such a way that a truth of the subject originally hidden from ordinary eyes is opened to them with such talent that one feels indebted to the artist for revealing a richer reality than had been previously seen.

It’s the same thing with expressing ideas. We first learn how to use words grammatically. Then we learn to describe truth accurately. But eventually, the goal is to make our presentation of ideas so elegant that even those who do not agree are enticed to want to by the beauty of our expression.

In all forms of art, loving others means honing our God-given skills so that we can serve our unique slice of the Divine to them in a way they will find delicious.