Tag Archives: artists

Artist

Artist: (n) a person who practices any of the various creative arts. dictionary with letter A

I was a bit flabbergasted.

The young lady on the television show referred to herself as “beautiful.”

Being the rogue human specimen that I am, I immediately began to look for moles, blemishes and unwanted hair on her personage.

I wanted to hurt her. Isn’t that terrible?

Even though we extol the importance of self-love, personal worth and valuing one’s own being, when it actually turns into words that are spoken aloud, it’s really gross. It is a contradiction in our society which doesn’t seem to be addressed very well by the present thinking.

In other words, we want people to be great; we want people to be confident, but mostly, we want people to be humble.

It is the same sensation I experienced when watching the recent Grammy Awards and hearing people refer to themselves as “artists.” I just don’t think it’s a self-proclamation.

I guess if you want to call me an artist and you’re insistent, I can bow my head and thank you, but at the same time, proffer the notion that I’m working towards that goal rather than having achieved it.

There are just some things you cannot say in life without becoming an asshole. (For instance, using the word “asshole” too much places you in this predicament.)

We are a peculiar sort. We do not like people who hide in the corner in fear, having to be drawn out to offer their gifts.

But if anyone arrives at the party thinking they’re going to be the “life” and insisting on being the focus, we all want to run over and turn off the spotlight.

What is the correct procedure? Here’s what I believe:

Find out what you can do, do it a little better all the time and let the quality of the work speak for itself while you remain silent.

I would much rather be called up than put down.

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Thank you for enjoying Words from Dic(tionary) —  J.R. Practix

Anger

dictionary with letter A

Anger: (n) : a strong feeling of annoyance, displeasure or hostility.

I don’t think there’s anything that makes people more angry than discussing anger.

It is a bit comical that any debate on the subject of human displeasure, manifesting as spits of rage, actually produces such diametrically opposed opinions that you end up with a personification of the word you originally decided to discuss.

Anger is the most common emotion to human beings. Matter of fact, if you even consider those who claim to be “God in the flesh,” they are described as being angry more often than amiable.

But just because it’s common does not mean that we’re willing to accept it, adopt it, own it or admit that we participate. One of the great bastions of pride are those souls who insist they never get angry.

Let me give you a quick definition for anger which is a little different from Mr. Webster’s.

Very simply, anger is frustrated passion.

If it’s sexual passion and it’s not allowed to come to fruition, it can quickly become ferocious or even violent.

If it’s creative passion which is limited in resources or opportunities, it can descend into depression or even in the case of many unfulfilled artists, suicide.

If it is parental passion which is unable to communicate earth’s ways with its child, rendering the parent seemingly useless, it can quickly turn to tears and accusations.

Without passion, we basically die emotionally, causing us to produce a spiritual numbness that freezes our brain–without further illumination.

Yet when we have passion, we risk frustrating ourselves in a blandness of inactivity which can produce the anger of our undoing.

So what is the value of anger? It tells us that our passion is frustrated.

  • Don’t question the passion.
  • Don’t complain about the anger.
  • Minister to the frustration.

Maybe that’s why the Good Book says we should “be angry and sin not.” Because when the frustration that causes our anger is not addressed, every sin imaginable jumps up and volunteers to destroy us. 

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Thank you for enjoying Words from Dic(tionary) —  J.R. Practix

Activate

Words from Dic(tionary)

by J. R. Practix

dictionary with letter A

Activate: (v.) to make something active or operative.

Let me give you a new definition for intelligence: Intelligence is when you find an easier way to do something without sacrificing quality.

Do you remember when they came out with check cards? Or really, at the very beginning, with credit cards? They had a process they used to “activate” your account. Can you recall how ridiculously difficult it was?

It involved remembering some numbers, calling long distance, or driving to your local ATM and punching in something you couldn’t possibly regurgitate. Performing the task was usually followed by discovering that you had left some piece out of the process, leaving you holding your totally useless plastic rectangle.

It’s what I love about this country–discovering the best part of capitalism. That is, creating something, making your money from it as soon as possible and then dropping the price or simplifying the retrieval.

It’s why I would NEVER be the first to buy an I-Phone. I have no desire to be an entomologist. I will let all the first purchasers work out the bugs. I’ll just come along later, when I see signs advertising “New and Improved.”

For instance, I like restaurants that advertise, “Under New Managements.” They’re letting me know that somebody screwed up and that now they’re trying to screw it back down.

  • It would be wonderful at this point in our history if some true leaders and statesmen would appear, to activate our government.
  • If some whimsical, free-thinking theologians would activate our spirituality.
  • If some musical artists would activate our emotional souls.

But for that to happen, complexity will have to be set to the side as we giggle at how foolish it was to make things difficult.

Maybe that’s why I write this daily column–just to activate in each one of us the wisdom that is carried in the power of a single word.