Practical Love

Life is a matter of perspective. This is illustrated so beautifully in the TV show Downton Abbey, on PBS. For the two of you that have not seen this program (Mitt Romney, because it is on PBS and another guy), it is about aristocrats and their servants http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downton_Abbey and you get to see both sides with their struggles and triumphs. Of course, they are very different. Another great cliché is that the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. Which simply means that we all have our own perspective and what it means to us is quite different. Most of what we hate about others comes from two places: 1) They are too different from us and 2) They are too similar to us. Think of the last time someone "wronged" you. It is either that they acted in a way that was different than you or what you would want from them. Or, they acted exactly like you and you hate that about yourself. My favorite act to talk about, because it is so universal...

Artists literally pour their hearts and souls into their work. When you draw or paint, your skin, oil, sweat can actually become part of the piece. But these pieces are their interpretations of the subject. Their imagination and experience coupled with their sight are manifested on their medium. Singers, songwriters, dancers and all performance artists put everything out on the line because they do it live while you watch. It is all the expression of their interpretations and experiences and they put a lot of themselves into the piece. Their own emotions, their own thoughts and their own bodies make it into the show. They invite you to come. They sit in the wings nervously. "Will they like me? Will I screw up? Did they come?" Art happens. You meet them at the stage door. So nervous, they leave their make-up on. "So...what did you -" they barely get out and you say, "You look pretty!" (insert 80s style needle scratch here). The performers all know tha...