It Is What It Is?

It is what it is,

Until you make it something else.

Have you ever visited an art gallery and seen crap hanging on the wall?  I mean, really, I've seen chimpanzees that can produce crap better than the crap I've seen hanging, and at least their crap may actually have crap in it.  Though, thinking about it, maybe the human "art" does as well.  I've produced art most of my adult life.  I've sold some, but mostly I did it for the pleasure of creation.  I always shake my head when I see some of this "art" being sold, and bought, for the prices asked.  If I wanted to paint for a living, I'd do very well for myself.  But, and I can admit I'm not that good and that I am my own worst critic.

Drawing is the honesty of the art. There is no possibility of cheating. It is either good or bad.

-- Salvador Dali

What is art?  Like beauty, it is in the eye of the beholder.  For some folks, there would seem to be much beauty in crap.  Either they need glasses, or I need a better prescription, because I just don't see it.  Then, there is the artist that doesn't have any clue, except that "art lovers" generally have more money than good taste and don't know damn it about art.  This talent of this type of artist lies in putting blank canvases on the wall and daring you to see the "deep meaning" of it all.  The deep meaning is he didn't have to do any work. Whether they paint crap or paint nothing, almost all of these artists eke out a living bilking money from people that generally have the artistic tastes of ignorant sphincters.  But, then, as we all know, art reflects life.

Some painters transform the sun into a yellow spot, others transform a yellow spot into the sun.

-- Pablo Picasso

"Every good artist paints what he is."  That statement explains much.  I like, "It is what it is, until you make it something else."  I've taken works of art and painted over them, making them into something worth looking at.  I've salvage antique table tops and carved them into hanging art.  I don't purchase the piece for what the artists sees; I purchase it for the platform to create something different, something better, for me.  When I do find an artists I like, it is rare, but last month I found a woman with a talent for water color.  I had seen her work last year, during the same art festival, and knew I would purchase an item this year.  I commissioned a painting for my living room which was in dire need of some color.  I loved her easy style and, since I love to cook, I wanted "foody" art with a southern flavor.  We discussed size, about 24 x 36 inches, and what I'd like to see in it.  She painted me the perfect piece, seen below.

This art, like all art, isn't for everybody, nor is it intended to be.  This art is for me, it reflects who I am and what I enjoy.  For me it reflects cooking good food, enjoying family, a love of the sea and of the South.  It is what it is, but even in this, it is what it will become.  I still have to take it to choose the proper frame and glare proof glass, and then I have to pick the right spot to hang it.  When framed and hung in an appropriate spot.  Folks can have their own opinion of it, understanding that I really don't care what their opinion is.  It is only important that I like it.  The art was chosen as a reflection of me, their opinion of it is a reflection of who they are.

Painting is self-discovery. Every good artist paints what he is.

-- Jackson Pollock

So, what is the point of this post?  Life is like art.  When you take a step back and take it all in, is it really just what it is, or can you make it something better?  More importantly, I suppose, is will you make it something better?  There is no deep meaning in a blank canvas other than that it represents... nothing, and crap on a canvas represents crap on a canvas, a lack of any talent, caring, or time to spend on it.  Both an empty canvas and a canvas of crap represent the artist's attempt to take advantage of the beholder's gullibility.

Anybody can be a critic, but what has a critic done with their own canvas?  What have you done with yours?  Does your life take advantage of other people's gullibility to buy into your bullshit, or does it reflect your honest attempt to create a life others will want to emulate for themselves? Does your life, your canvas, incite others to pick up a brush and work on their own?  Our life is what we make of it, and we can always paint over our first attempt and try again until it speaks to us, until it gives us pause, and we smile.  

“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.”

-- Pablo Picasso

It is what it is.  You actually only have control over your own life.  If something is affecting your life you have the choice to walk away.  Why worry over something of which you have no control?  To what end?  However, if you want to change it then fretting over it, being emotional about it, or ignoring it, won't change the fact that it is what it is.  Wanting change isn't enough.  You must make an honest effort to affect change, and then follow through until change occurs.  There is no time for trying if your life is on a non-existent path, miserable, isn't going anywhere, or your life low-light is pinging.  As Master Yoda says, "Try not!  Do or do not, there is no try." 

"But, I'm not as artist," you declare, and you evidence either how lazy you are to make anything better of your life, or your lack of self-confidence to affect any meaningful change.  Taking a first, tentative step, is not trying.  On the contrary, taking a first step is doing.  Taking a second step is continuing, and each step further brings you closer to effecting changes in your life which will, ultimately, put you on a path to everything God intended for you.  Or, you can finger your naval and contemplate your glaringly blank canvas through this life and into the next.  

“A painter should begin every canvas with a wash of black, because all things in nature are dark except where exposed by the light.”

-- Leonardo da Vinci

And, as for suicide, think about what would happen if killing yourself simply damns you to the endless loop of finding yourself back at the beginning of your problems, still not being able to change them and ultimately killing yourself, again, only to find yourself back at the beginning, and killing yourself again, and repeating this so many times until, one day, you have an epiphany.  You realize the pain and creativity involved in killing yourself multiple ways still results in you having to relive the crap of a life you already lived, again and again, because you'll never be allowed to change the lessons of the past.  So, this time, you finally realize it was the final answer that was wrong.  You can never move forward by providing the wrong answer.  

You decide, instead, to change the present answer, which would also be your last answer; the moment when you made the decision to end it all.  This is the "Aha!" moment when you discover you've been a dumbass, pull yourself out of your pit of despair, and life starts to get better because you took the first step - forward!  Face it, would you really want to take the chance of having to go through all the crap that brought you to ending it all, over and over, again and again and again, until your dumbass finally has the epiphany?  Better to just get it right this time and be done with it so you can move on, don't you think?  Besides, who really wants to piss off the Deity by being so selfish as to kill one of God's creatures?  Yeah, that would be you.   

When do you plan on taking the first step toward being all you can be?  If not now, when?  Is your life truly doomed to only be what it is?  Or is it only because you haven't acted to affect any positive change?  And that brings me to my favorite question, "Why?"  And, try to remember, any excuses you come up with, or buy into, are your excuses.  It is your life, and they are your decisions, and your consequences.  It just might be time to stop the pity party of one.  Maybe you should think about growing up and learning to deal with shit.  What would Jesus say?  Maybe that it is what it is, only until it isn't.  Maybe that it is time for you to take the first positive step, toward something marvelous.

“It is good to love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is well done.”

― Vincent van Gogh

But, all of this is just the humble opinion, the ramblings, of some old guy.  Who am I to judge?

Editor's Note 

(re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card) 

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider another viewpoint. 

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth. After over twenty years with military intelligence, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we do afterward, and what we learn from the experience.

Pastor Tony spent 22 years with Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, and instructor. He is founder of the Congregation for Religious Tolerance and author/editor of the Congregation's official blog site, "The Path," which offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's own personal, spiritual, path toward peace and the final destination.