Art is a Level Field

This Sunday’s thought is rooted in a discussion I overheard while waiting in line at the store. This woman kept speaking of someone’s shortcomings, I think a co-worker. By the time I was checking out I surmised it was likely someone new at their job and this woman was wholly unforgiving of this person’s mistakes. It seemed to be the typical put down others use to elevate themselves when, in anyone else’s eyes, it doesn’t do that at all. However, helping a willing person learn and become better at whatever they need to do should raise both people in the eyes of any empathetic observer–the person helping because of their generosity and the person learning because of their openness to be taught.

We should always keep in mind that someone somewhere is probably better than you at any one thing you do.  This is especially true in creative fields. But it’s not even that someone out there will do what you do better, but rather that they will do it differently.  There’s no point in anyone thinking of any other artist as being above or below another. Art is a personal journey and the most productive path includes helping those that can learn from you, and you, without ego, willingly learning from those that know what you do not.