Relationships In The Life Of An Artist

Sometimes being an artist can be tough on a significant other not also pursuing an artistic endeavor. We who are artists see life through different lenses. Our inclinations are to travel far and wide - both physically and emotionally. We do not make a contrived effort to do so - it just happens as part of our personas, our psychological makeups. We do these things in order to uncover the truth...to separate reality from fiction so that when we reach out to the world to touch someone we are equipped with the proper tools.

Interacting with men, women, guys and gals, the highest ranking to the ones at the lower rungs, is all part of the framework that defines us and makes us what we are. In order to share our own perspectives through our artistry we must emote with others, feel how they feel, see life through their eyes too. This can sometimes lead to high levels of intimacy - not necessarily physical, but emotional and otherwise - with people with whom we interact.

Too often, a significant other cannot appreciate our complex makeup, our drive to do the things we must as part of our journey. The life of an artist can sometimes, ironically enough, lead to one of loneliness, emotional turmoil, and broken romantic relationships.

It's not an easy road to travel...but somehow we cannot take a detour...we must travel wherever the heart leads...or we perish....

America

America is a blessed country and I thank God to be here...but my love would be insincere if I ignored its unjust history - land viciously seized from original inhabitants and then worked upon by coerced, enslaved peoples brought across the oceans. There was also the irony, after slavery ended, of ugly racism against those emancipated for being here!

The Founding Fathers set the right tone for a great country by creating a masterpiece Constitution. America is indeed a country of which I am proud to be a citizen...but I am ashamed of the ugly spectacle of some of its past. America today, and all who reside herein, owe homage not only to those who revolted against tyranny from abroad in 1776 - but also to the likes of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and other Civil Rights heroes, for revolting against injustice and oppression from within.

Accountant In Manhattan Dreaming Of Writer With A Home In Queens

I'm a dreamer with a dose of reality. I'm an accountant by day who writes a blog and aspires to be a professional writer earning an income from writing, while creating pieces to move the reader. I've been a resident of Manhattan for decades, but I'm also an admirer of the borough of Queens - so much so that I've even written an earlier piece on it in this blog.

Transitioning from accountant to writer only is not an easy process - from a financial and career perspective; moving to Queens and bidding goodbye to the Upper West Side of Manhattan which I've come to love - and which I've also blogged about earlier - will not be easy either. So what's an accountant in Manhattan who dreams of being a writer with a home in Queens to do?

I'm gonna aim for a combo on both counts...maybe I can one day be a part-time accountant and also write professionally - and still have two beautiful careers...and maybe the lucky stars will align over me and make it possible for me to have two homes - one in Queens and one in Manhattan's Upper West Side!

Dream on...and work hard at the same time, accountant and writer, Manhattanite and 'Queensite"-to-be!!!

Exiting An Unhappy Relationship

If a romantic relationship - marital or otherwise - is causing one or both parties insoluble grief and unhappiness, it's time to exit. Life is too short to prolong the agony.

With your inner strenth, support from family and good friends, and your religious faith, if any, move on and pick up the pieces again. It is never too late to minimize losses and seek a better future. You owe it both to yourself and the other party.

No couple Is An Island Unto Itself

In this 21st century, both men and women in romantic relationships - marital or otherwise - must understand that neither party is personal property or chattel. The bond obviously must be there to sustain the pairing, but they must both recognize each other's right to friends and to interaction with other human beings - whether it be social, professional, religious, or personal. When a man and woman decide that they should become a couple, it does not mean that they've also decided to put locks around each other or to stifle each other's personas, personalities, or growth as human beings.

Restricting a partner from interacting on a personal level with another person of the opposite gender creates more problems for a relationship and can cause it to flounder and eventually collapse. In this modern era, women, like men, do have career and professional aspirations and achievements. Both men and women live in a world of constant communication via phone, online, and in-person means.

Before creating the bond that defines a longterm relationship, they must understand that while they are becoming an item together, they do not dissolve their individual identities. There ought to be enough common interests to sustain the relationship, but there must also be breathing room to pursue interests and communications with others without restriction merely because the two are in the relationship.

I wish all couples much success as they navigate the turbulent waters and the inner and outer conflicts that sometimes mar the beauty and joys of being together. It's not an easy road to travel these days

The Unkindness Of History

History sure has been unkind to peoples in different settings all over the world.

I often think of America and what a great country she is, and how blessed I am to enjoy her magnificence. But I also think of those who, from the inception, contributed to her present-day status. Eurpoeans, African slaves, indigenous peoples, all participated, voluntarily, or involuntarily, in the formation and development of the United States of America. The blood, sweat, and tears of millions have left a trail and legacy in the history books.

Some have argued that it was a "Manifest Destiny," a design by God, that Europeans should settle this great expanse and exploit its natural resources, and in the process create the greatest superpower in human history.Yet, though, founded on the principles of equality and disregard for class, race, or religion, the nation took a few hundred years to live up to its professed doctrines.

One reflects on a history that also includes lands taken from Native Americans and enslaved labor brought to work those lands. Crimes against groups of peoples were part and parcel of the process. Somehow, it's hard to look back with a Machiavellian perspective, and give a standing ovation on the basis of the philosophy that the end justifies the means.

Make no mistake, millions of Americans - born and naturalized - stand in awe of this great land. They are thankful to be a part of a country that affords everyone the opportunity to pursue their maximun potential - and to do so in a society that does not bow down to royalty or require social class or religion as a prerequisite to achieving the best in life.

I do wonder though why so many innocents had to be destroyed for a great country to emerge. Was it just another example of Darwin's theory of the survival of the fittest? Was there really a "Manifest Destiny"? Was there no other way for such a magnificent country to emerge?

Perhaps the writer's imagination in me rises too often and rouses my sentimentalities and consciousness to events of yesterday best left alone. Perhaps, one needs to focus absolutely on the status quo and the future. In my journey through life as a writer I often seek answers...and I am often bewildered at the sacrifice of untold millions throughout human history in all parts of the world.

Indeed history seems to have been unkind to many. Somehow, some events of the past six thousand years, and of today, in America and in different parts of the world, seem to counter the concept of a Divine Being. Maybe God has stepped aside to let us do our own thing? Maybe the metamorphoses that nations, societies, peoples, groups, individuals undergo are a constant struggle for superiority - without the intervention of a God?

What I do concede is that America's history does have its blemishes - but so does the history of every civilization. Maybe the day will come when we no longer have to claim that it was divine destiny that some be sacrificed so that others could prosper.

Possibly, the answer is to accept the mistakes of the past without reference or need for divine justification. Perhaps, we all need to acknowledge that casualties are inevitable as history evolves...and that, as modern societies, we must learn to adapt, to minimize suffering, and try to enforce equity...and to continue our march forward, without looking back too much at the past...and without seeking divine justification for the acts of man...

Does God Exist?

For many of us, it is comforting and reassuring to believe that there is a God who created us and who awaits us at the end of our mortal lives. Ever since the beginning of recorded human history, we have looked to the skies, to revered objects, and to our own selves as affirmation of a Superior Deity who brought into being all the magnificence of the world around us.

There are however questions that can shake the beliefs of even the most ardent and devoted of believers. Why does a good God allow so much suffering all around us? If there is a God, why should a little innocent child be stricken with cancer? Why should history be replete with so much savagery by man toward fellow man? How could a benevolent God allow mass murder and massacres, slavery, the Holocaust, tribal, ethnic, and religious atrocities by one group toward another, rape of innocent, helpless women, and even children at times? And some of these events continue unabated in many parts of the world today.

If we look at the beauty and splendor of living and non-living organisms that populate the planet and galaxies as proof of a marvelous, omnipotent Creator, then surely such positive energy must be offset by all the tragic events since the beginning of time to the present day, should it not? Is there a God who allows tragedy to continue? Was there once a God who no longer exists? If God does exist, why then does he/she allow the status quo to continue? What is man's destiny after his physical armor has breathed its last? Reincarnation? Resurrection from the dead? Will Jesus come again to save the world once more? What form do we take in the next phase of life after this - if there is one?

These, my friends, are the questions that many sometimes ponder - perhaps not every day, but certainly ever so often. I myself am not an agnostic but of the Christian faith, As a teenager and churchgoer at a Pentecostal church, I stood on the street corners of Georgetown, Guyana, handing out religious tracts to passersby. Even as the years go by, I remain favorably disposed to the existence of a God, and recognize the validity of different religious persuasions which recognize a Supernatural Being.

I do, however, have my doubts whenever a tragic event involving an innocent child, woman, or man occurs or whenever a horrifying injustice is reported. Perhaps, in my journey as a writer, I will find some answers. If I do, I will surely share them with my readers. As of now, for me, there are more questions than answers.