In his 1889 essay, the Decay of Lying, Oscar Wilde proposed that “Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates Life”.  There is indeed a truth in art that is hard to find in life. There is also truth to be found in the artist.

I just returned from a long holiday weekend in Asheville, North Carolina. A fascinating place if you’ve not been there. In a time far, far away, it was a bustling banking town before being hit hard by the depression. Since the 1970s, it’s made a roaring comeback as a destination for tourists nationwide and a home to an eclectic and prolific art scene. As my wife and I (and the kids) walked through the art district along the riverbanks, I paid close attention to the artists hard at work in their natural habitat (and even more attention on my kids who were two seconds away from bringing down an entire studio of ceramics). It occurred to me that they were on to something special (The artists, not my kids. My kids were just on something. Sugar, I think.) 

In fact, three truths about artists and the way they walk their daily lives create a very compelling formula for guiding our spiritual walks.

1. Artists follow their passion. They are dogged about this. They will literally starve for it. They are woefully incomplete without it.  They know who they are as individuals, feel certain about their calling and go after it with every bit of strength they can muster.

2. They use their talents. They wring every drop of talent from their hands and apply it liberally to the world around them. They create. They act. You never see an artist who doesn’t strive to leverage his or her gifts.

3. They are not bound by things of this world. The overwhelming majority of artists I have encountered have chosen a simpler life and are unchained by the materialism that cripples the rest of us. They have chosen to invest in their craft, to work for, with and in something they love.  They aren’t keeping up with the Joneses. They aren’t paralyzed by having to “provide for their family” and yet somehow those who need to, usually do. They also haven’t fallen into the trap of finally “having to grow up and get a real job” and follow the status quo and the norms society likes to impose. Ladders to climb. Things to buy. Appearances to keep. Because of this, artists are able to pursue their dreams with no regrets. Not saying it’s easy, just saying they find a way.

Just stop and think for a moment. What if you were able to follow a clearly defined purpose and be relentless in your pursuit of it? And what if you were able to wring every drop of talent God has blessed you with to further His Will for your life? And what if  you were able to break free from the ties that bind you to this world, the things you hold sacred, in return for an unbound freedom to invest in what God has for you?

I just asked myself these questions and was amazed by how different my life could be if I would imitate a bit of art. Or at least follow the guidance of the artist.