I recall seeing a short video years ago titled 'The Art of Kissing'.
It was meant to teach how to kiss and showed just lips. The lips first seemed hesitant to lock and touched briefly, like one does when testing new waters and then gradually worked their way till they got comfortable to use their tongues.
I liked it and put it up as my Blackberry Display Picture (BBM DP) at the time but most people said I was crazy, "Okiemute which one is this again?" "This is intense o" blah, blah, blah but I'm sure they watched it over and over again - it was that good.
I learned then that kissing is an art but with time I have learned that all life is art and not just kissing.
Art in this context is skill attained by study, practice or observation.
Everything we do is art because they require study, practice or observation.
A baby suckling his mother's breast soon learns that the nipple should go in his mouth and not his nose, he also learns that even that isn't enough as he has to suckle for milk to come out - that's an art, the art of suckling.
We are taught how to hold cutlery and even how to chew and behave when dining. It is called dining etiquette and it's an art.
You have probably bought books or other materials that promise to teach you how to be a better sales person, how to toast that girl, how to win friends and influence people, how to get that job, how to make love, how to stop procrastination, how to make more money, how to cook and even the art of war - that's you striving to learn and master these arts.
We seek training or watch people eat, bath, pick and style clothes, dress up, greet, walk, dance, talk, sing, work and even fight so as to learn the 'art'.
So you see, living is an art and requires intentionality. We ought to therefore come to this great stage called life with a willingness to give it our best and do it cautiously and consciously.
We ought to resolve to master the art of living by going with life's ebb and flowing with its tides of joy, achievements and grief and pursue excellence in all we do.
It's as a quote I once read says, “The master of the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his education and his recreation, his love and his religion. He hardly knows which is which; he simply pursues his vision of excellence in whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him he is always doing both“.
Life is the greatest art of all and really great artists find a way to master this art by living with awareness, knowing when to hold on and when to let go and above all giving themselves a chance to evolve.
So whether you are kissing, eating, dancing or fighting, do it with intention and make the most of the moment.
Test the waters, learn from your mistakes, grow with each experience...and repeat till you master the art of living.
Photo Credit: NYCdanceproject.com
No comments:
Post a Comment