I have been meaning to make this entry for quite a while but somehow kept getting sidetracked.
It comes from the alarming amount of social media posts about depression that I see from my friends.
As an artist, I understand what it is to be deeply in touch with feelings.
Even more, I know what it’s like to feel the need to express those feelings.
It’s hard as hell and it takes a lot of inner preparation.
So, I’ve decided to talk about what helps me and a little about the philosophy of thnwblk.
First off, I think that we are being conditioned more and more by social media.
Though it has a lot of amazing benefits, there are extreme dangers that come with it.
Seeing the perfectly curated lives of people can lead to misunderstandings about reality.
”Why aren’t I so lucky”
”Why wasn’t I invited”
It was once easy to ignore the fear of missing out. Now, you’re not only missing out, you’re getting highlights in real time.
Not only that, but for the first time, we have access to direct communication with… well, everyone. You don’t have to have your favorite celebrity’s phone number, they are only a DM away.
So close… so close you feel like maybe, you should shoot that shot. That shot usually misses, and somehow those misses hurt.
All in all, we are now living in an alternate reality while simultaneously being in the ‘reality’ we are in. The emotions experienced in the alternate reality, unfortunately, are experienced for real.
So, I just wanted to shed some light on how not to let things affect you so much.
starting with being liked.
Somehow, these alerts, those little hearts that pop up and say “you and your work and your outfit and your food and your selfie and all that you are is AMAZING” touch us profoundly. The quote comes to mind,
“people will believe anything you tell them, as long as it’s a compliment.”
Somehow, we get a rush of happy… straight to the brain. It makes us refresh and check back, as if we were on some sort of drug. Is it real though? I have shot imagery that I have posted, the model in the image has posted and the huge corporation/brand it was shot for has posted. Even though our followings were disproportionate, the ratio of “likes” the image received was way skewed respectively. So was it about me? was it my work? I actually saw my friends “loving it” on the brand’s and model’s pages while completely absent from my post. How do we process that?
For me, it’s all about listening for the lessons I am here to learn.
We are interested in inspiring. Inspiring people to be great versions of themselves. Through our art. Through our creations. We are little limited creators, with the DNA of the Ultimate Supreme Creator coursing throughout our beings. If the Supreme Creator has manifested an entire existence, yet given us free will to ignore Her/Him, how could we ever expect to create without giving that same freedom. Have you ever had to fight for something, and when you finally ‘won’ the other party gave it to you begrudgingly, or as if your whining and complaining forced them to ‘just let you have your way’? there is not a lot of satisfaction in that. So if the Supreme creator has given everything, yet allowed us to completely ignore Her/His existence, how chould we ever create or present anything in any other way. We have to give people the free will to experience us in their own way. It should not dictate how we create nor should we expect them to receive our art in a specific way.
This type of renunciation is crucial to us being happy. Our art has to come from a pure place, but how people receive it says more about them than you.
Okay it’s late, I have an early appointment but I will post part 2 on Monday (hopefully)
I will also follow up with this post.
Love you all,
Blk.