In retrospect from one possible future. On this far flung day, many celebrated the birth of the Buddha—the same day Picasso died.

There were many questions about the past.

Why were they preoccupied with lifestyle and the mindless cult of celebrity? Why were they fearful instead of bold, unwilling to meet their fate in the name of right action? Why did they pollute mother earth with abandon for shortsighted profit and meaningless progress? Why didn’t they see that they were not at the top of the food chain? Why was ROI not seen in terms of the new generation? Why did they procreate like a virus?

Why did they place art and entertainment on the same page?

For those to come who inherent the earth, there will be many more questions about those who were not good shepherds. Sheep can be as dangerous as tyrants. As the true artist understands in the present moment: you are on sacred ground when you know where you stand.

Give posterity a chance to flower by being original, by being aware, by seeing through the enticing veils of illusion, of social conditioning.

Before launching into a career, it is astute to find your dharma first, and then go on from there.

This approach is contrary to what most of us have grown up with, where you decide your occupation based on various factors, such as status, security, aptitude tests, and society’s demands—none having to do with dharma.

When I was in high school and college, I remember a slogan that was hyped on TV and billboards: ‘If you want a good job, get a good education.’ Although this self-fulfilling prophecy seemed well advised and harmless at worst, it was, in retrospect, insidious propaganda, and especially misleading for the artist who must educate herself.

MORE...

You may be aware of the concept of memes, which is essentially, “the transmission from one mind to another through speech, gestures, rituals, or other imitable phenomena.”

Words can heal or spread like a virus. Several years ago, the word “robust” leapt into the limelight, repeated into oblivion. My recollection is that Condoleezza Rice used robust during a press conference, then the word spread like an airborne pathogen—becoming meaningless as the media regurgitated robust with mindless abandon.

Then, in more recent days, the word “transparent” surfaced and became ubiquitous during the presidential campaign. Listen to the media, your leaders, your friends, acquaintances, family members, and hear for yourself.

As for art, if you parrot the words and ideas of others, how can you possibly create original work? Without discernment, life becomes a cliche.

“One needs something to believe in, something for which one can have whole-hearted enthusiasm. One needs to feel that ones life has meaning, that one is needed in this world.”

—Hannah Senesh

Blessed is the Match is a new documentary that chronicles the remarkable life of Hannah Senesh who paid the price for her convictions.

Here is blurb from the Apple trailer for the documentary:

Blessed Is the Match is the first documentary feature about Hannah Senesh, the World War II-era poet and diarist who became a paratrooper, resistance fighter and modern-day Joan of Arc.

Safe in Palestine in 1944, she joined a mission to rescue Jews in her native Hungary. Shockingly, it was the only outside rescue mission for Jews during the Holocaust. Hannah parachuted behind enemy lines, was captured, tortured and ultimately executed by the Nazis. Her mother Catherine witnessed the entire ordeal— first as a prisoner with Hannah and later as her advocate, braving the bombed-out streets of Budapest in a desperate attempt to save Hannah.

With unprecedented access to the Senesh family archive, this powerful story unfolds through the writings and photographs of Hannah and Catherine Senesh.

Now that hope has again been resold to the American people as if it had substance and meaning, I suggest that each one of us examines hope—which is, ironically, one weak passive word. This is fertile ground for me, and the understanding may be new to you.

Remember the Greek legend of Pandora and the box she was warned not to open? When her curiosity prevailed, she opened it and unleashed all the ills of the world upon mankind. But Pandora opened the box a second time and released hope, which was to heal man’s ills.

If the gods had included well-being in lieu of impotent and deceptive expectation, we could then, as the master had said, all live in fulfillment instead of hope.