Art with Spirit

Art without spirit is circus: mirrors, contortionists, firecrackers, clowns, and lots of elephant shit. This thought occurred to me as I dived back into the writing and post-Labor Day projects.

The impending push of projects are starting to pop up. On facebook and emails, phone calls, and the repeated question 'when are you coming back?' I love projects, people, and New York. But I also fear backsliding into a spiritless fall season, consumed by 'getting stuff done.' I've been going to the beach and even there, they can reach me. The cell phone buzzes and wails in my little orange mandala bag. I think this through: I could shut off the phone. And yet I can't will myself. The curious devil in me wins out by playing the 'what if' game. What if it's a big producer, what if it's your mom needing help, what if what if what if. Like most Americans, I simply do not shut off my phone. It is a tether into the universe now equipped with email, text messaging, twitter, and facebook status updates.

Wearing the armor of renuciation, I'll begin to get back into the flow of New York City and my wonderful friends. With the right state of mind, these projects can shift and become teaching experiences for me.

The acrobats walk the tight-rope with the glee of challenging death for no reason other than to feel alive. And the crowd watches with a gleam in their eyes, thinking of tragedy. But with if the acrobat could fly? There would be no need for a tight rope, sweaty concentration, precise perfected steps with death on both sides. There would only be wonder and freedom.