There is an understandably romantic notion that renaissance Italy was thriving art machine, pumping out classical works by the boat load. A society drenched in olives and porcini mushrooms, engaged endlessly in conversations about philosophy, the nature of being, the sciences and the very nature of what it means to be alive at this time. A self congratulatory world of aspirational dream makers, carving a relief tableau image on the temple of mankind.
So a bit like Linkedin today.
However, what is less spoken of is how much pressure artisans felt to measure up to the great names of the day. When you have someone as brilliant, productive and luminescent as Da Vinci heading the pack, what chance do you have? During the renaissance there was a huge pressure on artists and craftsmen to achieve. To always do more, be more, think more, create more, better, bigger, more perfect, perfect perfect…
Yes, just like Daft Punk, everything had to be bigger, better, faster, stronger. Just, in fact like now. A renaissance means ‘rebirth.’ The Rebirth plot is a story of struggle, facing one’s fears and embracing the pain of renewal for the benefit of both oneself and others. Charles Dickens’ seasonal favorite “A Christmas Carol” is a classic rebirth tale. It also occurs at a time of industrialization when the principles of the Italian renaissance and neoclassical design were being revisited and established as the foundation of a progressive and strong society.
And here we are again, the super successful classical elite are amassing their armies of influencers and yes people to spread the word of their empire that we should be a part of via a monthly subscription. We used to make regular animal sacrifices to the gods, then it was donation by coin, now it is rolling subscription handled by automated systems (the AI acolytes of classical modernity.) How many of us feel the pressure to succeed; and not just to succeed, but to be seen to be successful.
What sits behind this behaviour?
What are you really looking for? Attention, admiration, validation?
Love?
How many times have we heard the story of some poor soul who suffered sone terrible ordeal then decided to sell their story from the TedX Temple of Narrative Blanding to declare to the world how success has healed them. How pursuing their dream and achieving so highly has made them complete.
Has it?
Time will tell.
Is this healing, or is it simply a repackaging of the trauma?
We’ll see.
But here is the point I want to make…You don’t have to do anything.
There is no written law or human pre-requisite that you are duty bound to achieve higher than anyone else in this life. The “up the ziggurat lickety split” mentality of harder, better, faster, stronger is, in fact, hugely damaging. It is trauma to the individual emotionally and psychologically, to the environment, to the fabric of society. No-one has the right to demand or pressure another person into a path of endless ambition and achievement. We talk about excessive poverty as a one of the biggest problems facing our species, but we never talk about excess wealth, or excess ‘having.’
I am not anti money. To be anti money would be dumb. Money is the product of behaviours. What I am ‘pro’ is the healing of past traumas so that we can understand our behaviour more clearly, engage our passions and ambitions from a place of clarity rather than endless attention being paid to vertical achievement, as if life is just one never ending erection to be scaled and sustained. If there is a vertical, then there is a horizontal, our world is three dimensional (four if we include time and multi if we include quantum mechanics). The modernist flatland that classicism gave us has provided us with may incredible achievements, but higher and higher is ultimately heading for a fall, and a big, one.
The likes of Ego Musk, Jeff B and all the other a babies desperate for attention and adulation are behind the curve. The tide is turning and a new perspective is required. This is no longer the story of rebirth, this is a voyage in which everyone has a part to play. A voyage for the benefit of many, where no singular person is to be heralded as better, or bigger, or faster or stronger.
Yes I have ambitions.
Yes I have achievements I wish to realise.
But I know what sits behind because I have done the work. That work never ends and I always need to be wary of those driving forces of ego and trauma, but I am confident that despite my desire to achieve, I can also be happy doing absolutely nothing other than spending time with friends, sharing love, making good food and creating art. imagine your life with no audience and then recognise just how important they are to your success.
But before you do any of that, remember this: you are life, simply by being on this plane of existence you are taking part in something infinitely beautiful and complex that is far beyond the comprehension of those who only seek to have more and more. You are a player in the story of the universe. Know that. Know that to be that you have to do exactly nothing. Zip. Nada. Zilch. Zero. The square root of fuck all. Feel that space, really know it and then decide your path.
These are the letter from the X. A series of reflections from a middle aged man who grew up through the seventies and eighties and for some reason can’t remember much of the nineties. I write these reflections for younger generations to read and consider, and maybe appreciate. The world is a big scary place when we find ourselves alone. Know that you are not alone, there are many of us out there just like you - just trying to make sense of it all whilst remains openminded and compassionate. You have a tribe, all you have to do is reach out.
Big love.