Mutual Empathy

I am intrigued by the notion of business in congruence with art. The idea seems that one loses their soul as an artist when the commercial aspect is adhered to in any way. I myself try to find a balance of feeding my family and myself, as well as maintaining fulfillment as an artist and human being. Is there any sort of oneness to this notion? Do we ultimately have to sacrifice one for the other? My deep avante garde jazz pals hate the notion of working commercially. “Selling out” if you will. The typical commercial musician sees very little fulfillment in living a life of playing music underpaid and underappreciated. Some believe the lines between the two really do not exist, but ultimately live double lives, saying one thing to one group and another thing to the other. How do we find the oneness?

In my yearly retreat to Vermont, not only am I overwhelmed with the beauty of the woods and cheeses (even though I am lactose intolerant), I find that the way local business is conducted in an inspiring manner. Perhaps it is what our nations fathers had in mind for a free market, and a free way of life- being that it is New England and pretty much the birthplace of Capitalism. A word a lot of us are growing to believe is only evil. There is a toy/jewelry shop we visit yearly. What is special to us about this shop is the amount of personal touch and care the owner has put into it. From the choice of toys and jewelry to sell, to the layout, the shop is a work of art. Not to mention the brilliance of somehow mixing toys and jewelry to form an aesthetically beautiful functional business. Aesthetic function? I started seeing this pattern in so many places that my family and I are drawn to, from a local pie maker, to a cheese and wine shop, all bearing personal touch, artistry, and business function. It seems in this simple environment the Vermonters have tapped into the idea that we are all artists in what we do first, ala James Joyce’s perspective perhaps.

The difficulty of a professional artist always seems to be the business aspect. The one rule of thumb here seems to be to never lose yourself or ideals for sales. These business people believe in everything they sell, whole-heartedly. The cheese and wine shop even has an under $10 rack considering the lower budget, un-aficionado wine drinker. But the owner did hand pick all of those wines as well to her liking. I found those are the wines she sold most, even though her own true passion of wine usually lives in the $25 plus racks. Let’s face it, commercial means what the people desire thus we provide. Yet there is a spiritual service in this notion- serving others. The Vermonters teach me the importance of holding on to your integrity at all costs, in the face of buyers or bosses demands.

Being an artist is innate to the human experience. Expression and understanding through our own feelings is first and foremost. Simply pleasing the powers that be is nothing more than a self-imposed slave ship. Conflict should never be feared, as understanding another’s humanity should always be adhered to. I call this mutual empathy. It is the idea that superior or inferior, there is an understanding of the whole as well as other person’s experience as if it were your own. Those who are unable or unwilling to see a mutual empathy, and conflict with the idea of regard for a work colleague are simply creating a cycle of suffering they assume we all accept- employers and employees. I choose simply understanding. Who will you be?