Give the gift of Awesome
Give the gift of awesome: make this Christmas season count for creativity and independence
One of the most popular wishes for Christmas is world peace. People are in trouble, and while science and business attempt to find the answers to the problems that people are confronted with every day, they are doomed to failure. Regardless of what science and business come up with, their solutions will be meaningless without those who create.
Florence, Italy during the Renaissance was a peak of human civilization. Wealthy patrons supported the arts well enough that Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael became household names as Mutant Ninja Turtles centuries later. Giving these men the time to think and create allowed the world to experience some of the greatest beauty, art and inventions ever. Even Da Vinci’s theoretical musings yielded surprisingly accurate and wondrous ideas.
The world is lacking a sense of creation. People must learn to control their ramblings and be fettered with the almighty dollar. Today, Da Vinci would have to worry about patenting his ideas, just so that no one would steal them, and he could make a living if any of the patents were bought. The Sistine Chapel would have remained unpainted or have been painted by its parishioners, which while the donated time and services would be appreciated, they would have never yielded the results that make the Sistine Chapel one of the greatest art installations in the world.
The ephemeral nature of everything that is required by a capitalist society including planned obsolescence in electronics and anything on the Internet has created a nihilistic atmosphere that seeps into the human subconscious and leaves hope to fight against fear of irrelevance.
That fear, which may remain unrecognized for what it is, can be combatted only through creation. Those who do not have time to create, or those who find life too busy to create as they biologically, psychologically need to, may need to find another outlet. Indeed, the patrons of the arts in Florence were also its leading businesspeople.
It is through the acts of creation that human beings find out who they are, and it is these same acts that will help people remember why they are alive. It isn’t science or the market economy that is going to save the world; it is the arts. Everyone can support the arts and their favorite artists.
Give the gift of awesome, and give something that has been created by one person or a small group of people. Give a new book, an original work of art or music from an up-and-coming musician. You will be helping to make the world a more beautiful place, enriching more lives than you will ever know.
Give the gift of awesome: books
Give the gift of awesome: music
Give the gift of awesome: art
One of the most popular wishes for Christmas is world peace. People are in trouble, and while science and business attempt to find the answers to the problems that people are confronted with every day, they are doomed to failure. Regardless of what science and business come up with, their solutions will be meaningless without those who create.
Florence, Italy during the Renaissance was a peak of human civilization. Wealthy patrons supported the arts well enough that Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael became household names as Mutant Ninja Turtles centuries later. Giving these men the time to think and create allowed the world to experience some of the greatest beauty, art and inventions ever. Even Da Vinci’s theoretical musings yielded surprisingly accurate and wondrous ideas.
The world is lacking a sense of creation. People must learn to control their ramblings and be fettered with the almighty dollar. Today, Da Vinci would have to worry about patenting his ideas, just so that no one would steal them, and he could make a living if any of the patents were bought. The Sistine Chapel would have remained unpainted or have been painted by its parishioners, which while the donated time and services would be appreciated, they would have never yielded the results that make the Sistine Chapel one of the greatest art installations in the world.
The ephemeral nature of everything that is required by a capitalist society including planned obsolescence in electronics and anything on the Internet has created a nihilistic atmosphere that seeps into the human subconscious and leaves hope to fight against fear of irrelevance.
That fear, which may remain unrecognized for what it is, can be combatted only through creation. Those who do not have time to create, or those who find life too busy to create as they biologically, psychologically need to, may need to find another outlet. Indeed, the patrons of the arts in Florence were also its leading businesspeople.
It is through the acts of creation that human beings find out who they are, and it is these same acts that will help people remember why they are alive. It isn’t science or the market economy that is going to save the world; it is the arts. Everyone can support the arts and their favorite artists.
Give the gift of awesome, and give something that has been created by one person or a small group of people. Give a new book, an original work of art or music from an up-and-coming musician. You will be helping to make the world a more beautiful place, enriching more lives than you will ever know.
Give the gift of awesome: books
Give the gift of awesome: music
Give the gift of awesome: art