Smell, while not used as much as sight or hearing, is a very powerful sensation. Do you have a favorite smell?
Share why if you wish.
Month: April 2023
What Do You Think About When Your Mind Is Not Preoccupied?
For many of us, life is very full. At any given waking moment, there are dozens, if not hundreds, of things to be preoccupied with.
Most of what we think about from moment to moment tends to be concerned with immediate needs or problems: What should I wear today? Did I pay that bill? I’ve got an early meeting at work that I can’t be late for. What should I eat? …and on and on.
If you were to remove these sorts of thoughts from your mind, what is left?
To answer this question, there are some concrete steps you can take. There are different strategies for taking your mind off of these bustling, nagging thoughts.
One method is meditation. Meditation has grown in popularity over the last several years, and there are some suggestions that it can help to alleviate stress and reduce anxiety. There is no one sure-fire recipe to learn to meditate, although most methods involve focusing on something tangible, like breathing, to avoid preoccupation.
Another route to a peaceful mind is to surround yourself with a serene environment, like walking through a remote stretch of woods. If you remove reminders of your everyday life from your experience, you are less likely to think about it.
Yet another way is through intense physical exertion like exercise. Often your mind is able to let go of thoughts when your muscles are in action. This might be due to reduced oxygen available to your brain, or perhaps because of endorphins that are released during exertion.
Whatever method you use, one of these or something else altogether, what thoughts remain after the others are removed? Do you think of nothing? Or perhaps abstract thoughts become easier? Or maybe you become tuned in to the details of the world in front of your eyes.
What do you think about when your mind is not preoccupied?
Related questions: What do you think about when out for a walk? Are we too busy? Meditate or medicate? How do you find peace when you need it?
Truth Or Beauty?
Many individuals have pondered the ideas of truth and beauty, and some have even gone so far as to suggest that they are the same. What do you think?
Share why if you wish.
In What Ways Do You Not Act Your Age?
Acting your age is often seen as the responsible thing to do. But are there times you have chosen to not act your age, for one reason or another?
Share why if you wish.
What Does An Audience Owe The Artist?
One of the most interesting aspects of art is the relationship between the artist, who creates the art, and the audience, who interprets it.
The artist obviously has something in mind when they create, no matter if what they create is a piece of music, a painting, or something else altogether. That inspiration may or may not be obvious to the person or people who see the finished work.
The artist and the audience may never meet, and there is no guarantee that someone experiencing the piece will know anything at all about the person who created it. That not only includes who the artist is, but also what they are trying to convey in the work they have created.
However, there is a relationship between creator and consumer. Art is a means of communicating from one person to another, even if that communication is indirect.
Listen to a podcast where Michael and Lee discuss a related question: ‘How can we maintain wonder?’ We also discuss a bonus question: ‘How do you think others see you?’
With that in mind, does the audience for a work of art have any responsibility to the artist? Do they owe serious consideration, honest emotion, setting an appropriate context, or even learning about the intention during creation?
Does it vary from artist to artist, and/or from audience to audience? Does it depend on the type of art created? For example, does someone looking at a painting have a different obligation to the painter than someone listening to some music owes the composer and/or performer? What about a play, or some other public performance?
Related questions: What is art? Art: Create or consume? How important is the artist to art?