The freedom of choice

Short fuse

I now had dinner with my mom. We talked about this and that and the issues of the originality which I bring to the world of art and the building of the website which you’re surfing now came up. Then my mom’s expression took the form of: “I recalled something important” and she told me that today she heard from some expert in human interaction on the radio, that if you have something to remark to someone then there are several ground rules that you should follow, in order that your way of action be defined as “correct and suitable”, probably in the eyes of that certain “expert”.
So, according to that expert, the first thing you shouldn’t so is to talk about that person behind his back and the second is that you should be concise since people do not have the patience to listen for too long.

Primary incision

OK, so let’s dismember this now: first, I don’t need some “expert” to tell me that talking about someone behind his back is inappropriate since this is a natural wisdom that derives from that basic moral code which is common to all people. Anyway, if the level of my spiritual awareness does not enable me to be attentive to that moral code, then the tag of “that’s not right” will not be of any help or benefit to me. We all know that murdering “is not right” and those of us who still don’t will most probably not be affected by a two bit demagogy from this or that expert. Now, as for the need to be concise we encounter three possibilities: pleasant, unpleasant and neutral and I’ll elaborate on that later on.

An expert’s opinion

Now, you might ask me, as I asked my mother: “and what is that got to do with art or your website?”, so I shall answer. It turns out that out of that expert’s utterance my mom extracted the conclusion, that since I intend to post in my website many texts of explanation pertaining to the works and also not a few articles, I should be strict on a short, focused and concise phrasing because people will not have the patience to read so much anyway. She says that either way, those who will not like my art will not bother anyway to read more about it and those who will, either way won’t mind to understand what stands behind it since they have already been captured by my alluring charm.

My expert opinion

Well, I don’t think that’s true, and most definitely not really true; you might like my art and will therefore want to go deeper and understand what it is that you like, you might not like it but will nevertheless want to understand what it is that you don’t like, you might be apathetic and waken into a different and more active emotion out of the correct understanding of that which you observe, you might plainly be a deep person although impatient, whom will want to receive some feedback on unusual opinions and intense and “unacceptable” emotions you might experience and see that there are others like you, whom have turned these emotional charges into processes of creation and productivity, or you might be someone who just needs someone else to say all those things you cannot phrase into words or even think them clearly, as I experience myself so many times.

Allured by sub-consciousness

So now, after entering the statistics of the “enterers” of the realm of tedious long texts, why should you stay there until the end of that particular text and not leave after reading 2.4 lines? Oh, so here we return to the doctrine of the pleasant, unpleasant and the neutral.
Think of it along these lines: when you hear music you like, do you want it to end or to continue? And what about music you hate? And what about tasty or not tasty food? And if we simplify it, when a certain object comes in contact with one of the six sense doors: sight to the eye, sound to the ear, taste to the tongue, smell to the nose, touch to the skin or a thought or an emotion to the mind, and you like the sensation that arises in you, you wish for it to continue more and more and when you don’t like the sensation then you wish for it to end as quickly as possible. When the sensation which arises is neutral then you will probably not mind to stick around until something more emotionally compelling will come along to take you someplace else.

Meaning, if how I think and what I write interests you, that means that pleasant sensations arose from reading the texts and you are now wishing for them to continue as long as possible and you will therefore continue to read until the end of eternity or until something will change that feeling, and if I bore you to death or aggravate your ulcer, then you will probably exit my website faster than a bullet does the barrel of a shut gun.

Anyway, each and every one of us is subconsciously attentive to these primal sensations: pleasant, unpleasant and neutral. This is the basis of our being: different situations are characterized by certain stimulations that cause different sensations to arise in our body, which in turn are the cause and effect of our different reactions to these very external situations in our lives. Those of us who practice Vipassana learn to be aware of their subconscious and start to vividly observe that blind habit pattern and cause it to change gradually.

Behind the scenes

Two things are for sure: the one is that I have a lot to say and the other is that for the first time in my life I have built a platform over which I can sermonize my doctrines and philosophy of life without any disturbance. If you don’t like it you can go on your way – no one forces you to stay.

This is also the reason why there is complete separation between the diagnosis of the works (iconographies) and the works themselves. When you observe a work of art you need to give it space, physical space and mental space. Any element, such as a shape, a color of text which is placed nearby the work might consciously or unconsciously consume your attention or divert it. Take a look at how modern galleries are designed.
Furthermore, I did not want to forcefully shove my doctrine down people’s throats. If you are satisfied merely by looking at the artworks and understanding or not understanding them according to your inclination, so be it and if you wish to get to know my art deeper and me as a result of that, then you have to make a conscious decision, an actual choice of clicking on the iconography or articles categories.

You are now here because you chose so – why then should I bother myself with that you might suffer from that choice? Should I also bother myself with that you might suffer from choosing a bad dish at a restaurant nearby your place of residence?