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This site is a source for insightful artworks and educational materials discussing sexuality and love in the arts.  Communities should have exceptional access to diverse sexual and moral viewpoints.  This website has information on theatrical, musical, philosophical, poetic, political, and religious artworks from hundreds of artists over thousands of years.  If you are not yet mature enough to evaluate historical, literary, and artistic information on these important topics, then please be so kind as to consider returning when you are.

To search on any topic, you can use the search cell in the right column to search by keyword, artist, style, era, title, etc.  The tabs across the top of each page connect to word indicies and picture thumbnail indicies to enable searching by either word or image.

This is a non-revenue-generating site with no advertising support.  The posts promote artists, their ideas, and their work.  Wherever artists have online websites, those sites are included to encourage visitors to support those artists.  Thank you to the artists and visitors for continuing these vital dialogues.

No individual person can give artists the support they deserve.  But if we each regularly do something small to support the arts, I hope as a group we can make the world more colorful, memorable, and pleasant.

In the end, kindness matters.

Was Newsweek’s Sarah Palin Cover “Sexist” As Sarah Palin Claimed?

“How do you solve a problem like Maria?
How do you catch a cloud and pin it down?
How do you find a word that means Maria?
A flibbertijibbet! A will-o’-the wisp! A clown!

Many a thing you know you’d like to tell her
Many a thing she ought to understand
But how do you make her stay
And listen to all you say
How do you keep a wave upon the sand? . . .

When I’m with her I’m confused
Out of focus and bemused
And I never know exactly where I am
Unpredictable as weather
She’s as flighty as a feather
She’s a darling! She’s a demon! She’s a lamb!

She’d outpester any pest
Drive a hornet from its nest
She could throw a whirling dervish out of whirl
She is gentle! She is wild!
She’s a riddle! She’s a child!
She’s a headache! She’s an angel!
She’s a girl!”

  ~ lyrics from “How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?” from The Sound Of Music, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein, music by Richard Rodgers.

Sarah Palin responded to the November 2009 Newsweek cover on her Facebook by saying:

“The choice of photo for the cover of this week’s Newsweek is unfortunate. When it comes to Sarah Palin, this “news” magazine has relished focusing on the irrelevant rather than the relevant. The Runner’s World magazine one-page profile for which this photo was taken was all about health and fitness – a subject to which I am devoted and which is critically important to this nation. The out-of-context Newsweek approach is sexist and oh-so-expected by now. If anyone can learn anything from it: it shows why you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, gender, or color of skin. The media will do anything to draw attention – even if out of context.”

Here is the Newsweek article:

http://www.newsweek.com/id/222786

Was The Newsweek Cover Sexist?

The term “sexist” generally means supporting attitudes or behaviors based on stereotypes of sexual roles.  Or it can mean discriminating or devaluing a person based on their gender.

I guess the first question is:  Is the referenced song sexist?

In the musical, the song is sung by a group of older women Catholic nuns, commenting generally on the good-intentioned, but genuinely immature nun-in-training Maria.  Their line of reasoning is not generally that Maria is flawed because she is a woman.  Their criticisms are that Maria is inexperienced, under-educated, and motivated too much by her near-sighted feelings.  The nuns, from their conservative perspective, believe Maria goes “rogue” too often.

Sarah Palin’s accusation that the real photo she chose to pose for was “sexist” is incorrect.  More importantlly, Palin’s mischaracterization of Newsweek’s use of the photo reveals more of her lack of education and general stupidity. 

The intent of Newsweek’s photo was to do many things.  Primarily Newsweek used the photo and lyrical allusion to be funny – real life often being funnier than fiction. 

Palin made the same mistake many conservatives often make when they are made fun of.  Instead of laughing at a genuinely good joke, Palin responded by suggesting the photo was part of a broader conspiracy to confuse the consideration of substantive issues.

Palin has been a problem for herself, her state, and potentially for the Republican party.  The GOP should be grateful for the Newsweek cover and article.  The faster the GOP can jettison this Perot-esque GOP sideshow, the more likely they may be able to find a better GOP Presidential ticket for 2012.

Palin releasing her book “Going Rogue,” then saying in nationally televised interviews that the 2012 Presidential campaign is “not on her radar” is kind of like a girl in high school plastering glamour photos of herself in the main school hallways, then saying “I’m not hoping to be elected to prom court, but if others ask me to be a part of it, well . . .”

Palin can’t think her way out of a wet paper bag.  When faced with legitimate policy questions, Palin often either plays the wounded lamb or starts spouting out generic statements like an 8th grader who clearly didn’t do her homework or read the assignment.

She reminds me as much of Dan Quayle as she does of George W. Bush.  At least “W” had more political experience and savvy to often keep his mouth shut when he either knew he was uninformed or knew that saying what he actually thought would not be a politically smart move.  The Newsweek article’s criticism of Palin’s populist tactics is generally accurate and speaks to substantive issues and concerns.  If you actually read the article, you’ll see the author is not anti-GOP.  In fact, the author suggests the two best post-war Presidents were Republicans:  Reagan and Eisenhower.  Palin rarely shows enough intelligence to say, “I don’t know,” when she clearly doesn’t have a clue.

As the Newsweek article implies, Obama would be smart to not oppose the “rise of Sarah,” because she would be an ideal adversary to win against in the 2012 Presidential competition.  The Newsweek article writer appears to be sincerely writing with an intent to encourage the GOP to choose a politically smarter, more moderate Presidential ticket.

The Newsweek cover was not sexist.  The criticisms were not based on Palin’s gender and gender-stereotyped actions or thought processes.  The criticisms were ”in context” and targeted at Palin’s cocky demeanor, lack of reasoning skills, and foolish choices.

The Newsweek cover, and Palin’s bewildering Facebook written response, were funny.

And it’s past time for the GOP to “get the joke,” or else they will also lose the next Presidential Election in 2012.

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Mysteries Of The Universe

The above untitled artwork is by dirtyfeet.

(Click on the image if you wish to view it individually.)

© All rights reserved by dirtyfeet.

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“In Catholic school as vicious as Roman rule
I got my knuckles bruised by a lady in black
And I held my tongue as she told me, “Son, fear is the heart of love”
So I never went back

If Heaven and Hell decide
That they both are satisfied
And illuminate the “No”s on their Vacancy signs

If there’s no one beside you
When your soul embarks
Then I’ll follow you into the dark”

 ~ lyrics from “I Will Follow You Into The Dark” by Death Cab For Cutie

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Mysteries of the Universe

  ~ by OneMoreOption

If you are a blogger on WordPress, you likely know that the “Top Posts” widget, which I have renamed “Most Visited Posts”, is generated by wordpress.com.  It calculates the most visited posts on your blog in the last two days and lists them in order of most visited on down.

If you look in the sidebar, you’ll see the following artists are often in this blog’s Top 10 most visited list:

Hendrik Kerstens
Keith Haring
Frida Kahlo
René Magritte
Milo Manara
Tony Kushner
Nan Goldin
Renee King
Georgia O’Keeffe
The Eagles
David Bailey
Oskar Schindler
Steven Spielberg
Robert Mapplethorpe
John Currin

Here is a snapshot of the most viewed posts in the last 30 days:

I don’t do anything to control or manipulate the “Most Visited Posts” list.  It’s controlled by visitors and WordPress.

If you would have told me a few years ago when I started this blog that the artists that would receive the most attention would include the artists in the list above, I would have been delighted.

If I can either bring these artists’ artworks to the attention of a few more people each day or present these artists’ artworks with ideas that portray them in a favorable light, that makes me very happy.

I grew up in a family that cared a great deal about the arts.  But I didn’t grow up in a family that particularly cared for “sexuality in the arts.”  That love affair was started in me by the chemistry of others outside of my family.  Others promoted my interest in sexuality and love in the arts, and I’m grateful for their influences on me.  Hopefully, these “Most Visited” artists may have similar influences on others.

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Focusing Beyond The Cards You Are Dealt

The above artwork, titled “The Heart Of The Matter”, is by Karen Fedida.

(Click on the image if you wish to view it individually.)

© All rights reserved by Karen Fedida.

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Focusing Beyond The Cards You Are Dealt

  ~ by OneMoreOption

I mentioned yesterday that I’ve been playing some cards lately.  Last night I played in a Texas Hold Em tournament at a LGBT bar with 28 people, and I placed 3rd.  I caught good cards.  But more importantly, I played the odds so I’d improve my chances of catching good cards.

Playing poker has a lot more to do with knowing how to fold them than knowing how to hold them.  In poker, as in many other things, you should almost always fold most of the hands you are dealt.

In life, it’s probably a good idea to pass on most of the opportunities that come across your radar.

I’m not a great card player.  I’m also not very skilled at many other things in real life.

I am good at conceding many of my limitations and inabilities.  And while that characteristic may sound unexciting and uneventful, it has great value.

There are so many things “broken,” in me and possibly in others, that I don’t know how to “fix.”

I don’t often get zealous in support of misguided hope – another attribute that may draw unenthusiastic responses, but is also of great value.

Yesterday, I added some additional contextual information on Wikipedia to the idiom “Tilting at Windmills” that can be read here (view history):

“Tilting at Windmills” on Wikidpedia

When I play cards, I don’t play for money or for anything of consequence.  So, I rarely care much about the hands I should not have folded away.

But in real life, where there are real consequences, I have more difficulty living with opportunities I folded.  Some opportunities don’t come around again.

With that knowledge, when I play cards, I focus more on the players than the cards or the wagers – because the real value is found in their companionship and interaction.

In our crowd, when a player bets “all in” either because they think they have a great hand or because they only have a few chips left and essentially must bet to keep playing in the game, we have a practice of saying to that person:  ”Good luck all in.”

It’s a great sentiment.  It’s a kind sentiment to wish good luck to the person on the edge of failure.

Remembering how fragile we all are, that will be my closing to everyone today:

“Good Luck All In.”

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All In

The above untitled artwork is by Kirill Arsenjev.

© All rights reserved by Kirill Arsenjev.

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“When I give my heart
It will be completely
Or I’ll never give my heart”

“In a restless world like this is
Love is ended before it’s begun
And too many moonlight kisses
Seem to cool in the warmth of the sun”  

~ lyrics from the 1952  song “When I Fall In Love” by Victor Young (music) and Edward Heyman (lyrics).

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“All In”

  ~ by OneMoreOption

For the last few weeks, I’ve been playing the poker game Texas Hold ‘Em once a week at a local gay bar.  It’s a no-money tournament.  I play because the people that play there are very smart, quick, and personable.  I grew up in a family that generally enjoyed the challenge of playing card games.  I play because I enjoy the mental challenge and company of fast thinking people.

I am a romantic idealist in some ways . . . particularly in love.  But I am also practical in other ways.  Not that those two things are mutually exclusive.

The song “When I Fall In Love” was originally made famous by Doris Day, who ironically would eventually divorce 4 times.  I guess love alone may not be enough to make something last forever.

When I play poker, and when I fall in love, I am constantly thinking and trying to figure things out.  I almost always, with very few exceptions, play the percentages . . . as my father instructed me.  I’ve found that to be good advice, even if he, like Doris Day, divorced 4 times.

Giving “all of your love” or “all of your heart” is a gamble.  There is always the unknown.  There is always risk.  You never know the other person’s cards or how they will play them. 

Most of the time, it is probably an unwise wager to give all of your heart or allegiance to any one thing.  More often than not, it is probably naive to wager everything on one thing.  That’s probably one of the many reasons why my parents wanted me to date several people before ever “settling down.”

But there may be wise times to move “all in.”  However, even when the odds are with you, your timing is right, and you believe you’ve read the outlook correctly – it’s still a gamble.  It’s still a risk. 

In love, if you genuinely move all in, the odds are you will place several bets where you will lose – even if it was the best bet to make at the time.  In poker, when you lose, depending on the type of game you are playing, you will walk away either losing money or simply losing the game.  In love, when you lose, you will often lose significant parts of yourself and your hopes – a very difficult thing to concede.

In both poker and love, moving all in is not always a reckless wager.  Sometimes, it is a choice that has excellent odds for reward.

When I have fallen in love, I’ve almost always moved all in.  And when the love has not lasted, I have not walked away trying to delude myself that I did not lose anything or that love never existed.  No, I have loved completely and lost completely.

I have trouble understanding people who don’t make their love relationships a priority.  Love has been very important to me.  I have met people who are more interested in many other things more than love.  I’m not suggesting there is anything awry, out of balance, or mis-prioritized in those people.  I just have trouble understanding them on a personal level because love, romance, and sexuality are so important to me.  The odds are there is more likely something out of balance with me.

I’m not suggesting you should make love a priority in your life.  I’m not suggesting that when you fall in love, it should be completely.  Neither of those concepts alone may improve your odds of enduring in love.  Rather, a purpose of this dialogue is to show different perspectives and different approaches to love and wagering – and to suggest that love does not exist without wagering – and love is never something you will be able to completely control.

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Your Art Begins Inside Of You

 

The above artwork is by Michael G. Magin.

(Click on the image if you wish to view it individually.)

© All rights reserved by Michael G. Magin.

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Your Art Begins Inside Of You

  ~ by OneMoreOption

Your art begins inside of you and tries to work its way outward.

It’s revealed in your decisions, expressions, and actions.

It’s revealed by your body, your clothes, and the things you surround yourself with.  You express it through your hygeine, clothing, and accoutrement.

You express it in the consistency and clarity that your external world reflects your internal world.

You reveal your artistry in how you respond to others. 

You reveal your art in the causes you promote and the activities you regularly participate in.

Your work creates your artworks.

Your demeanor defines the undefined spaces in between.

There is an old, mean-spirited saying that goes:  “If you think you are important, stick your finger in a bucket of water, then remove it and see what kind of impression you leave.”

Yes, it’s probably true that none of us, or our specific actions, will be remembered.

But if we do not act in our generation, it is likely the next generation will have less because of our inaction.

Each generation, knowing it will fade from memory and likely disappear, must still add new flames to the torches and pass them on.

We are not dust in the wind.  We take forms.  We transfer all the good we have to the next generation.  We decide.  We have intents.  Our actions matter.

You don’t have to create traditional artworks to be an artist.  To be an artist, you have to make a concerted effort to bring the art of your inner world into view and fruition in the visible world.

And even if those artworks are small and transitory, you will be an artist if you perform the role you define on a stage for your significant others, community, and world.

If we are temporary, like leaves on a tree, then in our passing, let’s become our most colorful and burn brightest in our last few remaining days - leaving beautiful visual memories in those who will remain after we are gone.

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Should You Write All Of Your Truthful Story?

The above artwork is by dirtyfeet.

© All rights reserved by dirtyfeet.

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Should You Write All Of Your Truthful Story?

  ~ by OneMoreOption

The only story you can accurately write is probably your own story, and even that story will often be as fictional as your perceptions, and as suspect as your limited access to information.

An ethical question arises when you want to be honest and tell your story, because your story will almost assuredly involve others who do not wish for their activities to be disclosed.

When should you limit what you tell about “your truth,” when telling “your truth” will also reveal things about others they don’t want to be known?

You should examine each instance carefully.  And when in doubt, seek the advice of 2 or 3 professional, uninvolved counselors.

No matter how justified or “right” you feel in telling your truth and no matter how much you think it would be good for the specific people involved and the greater good, there still almost always are additional, essential, or important considerations.

Ask yourself:  What good might it do?  What harm might it do?

And when you think you’ve exhaustively answered those hypothetical questions, keep investigating further.

Give weight to the expressed emotional wants of the people involved.  Don’t just consider the “ethical” and “moral” reasons for speaking out.  Consider the emotional wants you likely do not fully understand in the others involved.

When no great harm is being done, and when no great harm is being prevented, consider discretion.  Tell your truth to a degree that does not unnecessarily name others’ names.  Discuss the principles more than the people. 

Focusing on your actions is probably the most accurate thing you can recount.  Speaking to the actions of others and your perceived reasons for why they acted the way they acted is more suspect information, even if you were first-hand involved with their actions.

Tell your own truth more than you attempt to tell what was “true” for others.

Focus on your own accountability more than trying to make others accountable.

You get to write one life’s story.  It is your story. 

Writing others’ biographies is an honorable pursuit.  But you should do so with the greatest of care and sensibility for their preferences and emotional well being.

You may be an honest person who has nothing to hide.  And you may not understand why others hide so many things about themselves.  But most other people have things they wish to remain hidden for their own reasons. 

At points of disagreement, you should use caution and give weight to their preferences and discretion – even when you disagree with them and don’t understand them.  When in doubt, allow others to choose what parts of their life’s story they will tell.  Allow them to portray themselves - even when you believe their portrayals are “false” or “misleading”.  When no great harm is being done, allow them to create their own character on their life’s stage.  Support the good in them.  And be slow to share things about them they do not want others to know.

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Determining Who Loves You

The above artwork is by Karen Fedida.

© All rights reserved by the respective artists.

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Determining Who Loves You

  ~ by OneMoreOption

I had a nightmare last night.  My nightmares don’t usually consist of monsters or terrifying or fantastic circumstances.  My nightmares are usually very real, rather ordinary events.

In my dream, 4 of my extended family members and I were visiting a tennis clinic.  The day began with a skills competition – not playing ordinary games.  In the skills competition, the better you did, the longer you stayed in the competition.  I did better than anyone else in my family, so I stayed in the competition longer.  When I completed the skills competition, I discovered my 4 family members had started a doubles set between the four of them on the only remaining court available.  When I came to join them, in the dream they communicated they’d just began a set (which can last 12 games long with a tie-breaker), and I could not play.  In my dream, this made me very sad and rejected because their actions excluded me.

My dreams often tell me important things subconsciously that I don’t figure out as easily when I am awake.  I don’t belong to any particular school of dream interpretation, but I believe many of us know ourselves best, and we can capably interpret what’s behind our dream imagery – a process that often can inform us well.

I awoke from the dream and tried to figure out what it meant, and what principles my dream was trying to tell me.

What do you think my dream was telling me?

Here’s what I deciphered from it:

My dream was reminding me and suggesting to me that “family” are the people who are considerate of you, treat you fairly, and don’t exlcude you unfairly.

In real life, my family would not have exlcuded me in that tennis situation.  Instead, they would have started a rotation game, where the substitute sitting out rotated into the game and everyone rotated clockwise (like you do in a friendly game of volleyball where you have more players than the number of positions on the court).

Good friends and family don’t treat each other unfairly.

This may sound simple, but for many people it is a foreign, or at least unfollowed, principle.

When I was growing up, despite fractures and conflicts within my immediate family, my parents went to great lengths and made it clearly known that my sister and I were loved equally, treated equally, and given equal advantages.  I never felt she received more gifts, affection, or care from either of my parents.  Each of my parents would articulate they wished for each of their children to be loved equally.  Favoritism, and fears of favoritism, did not exist in our house.

And I liked that environment.  So, when I got older and watched other people use favoritism for their various purposes, it has never been appealing to me.

How do you determine who loves you?

Does someone love you when they show you favoritism?  No.

A person loves you when they treat you with consideration equal or comparative to the consideration they show the other people they love.

So, if you’re in love with someone who shows you less consideration than they show to the other people and things they love, then that’s a red flag.

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Violence And Cruelty In The Age Of YouTube

There is a saying:  “Live as if the whole world was watching.”  It’s probably not widely followed.  But it is a principle to consider.

If you’re not familiar with the story of Elizabeth Lambert, the Universtity of New Mexico soccer player whose recent violent actions were caught on film, here is the Associated Press and ESPN footage of her cruel actions toward her opponents:

Lambert’s status at this point is that she has been indefinitely suspended and she has issued a written public apology regretting her actions.

Elizabeth Lambert on Wikipedia

The footage is appalling. 

It is especially striking to watch highly-trained women athletes doing these activities.  We probably see equally violent actions between highly-trained male athletes much more often.

Many people still have an unsophisticated calculation that leads them to justify doing things “out of view,” things they would not do if the whole world knew what they were doing.

Take the balloon boy family for example.  For their scheme to work, it would have required the entire family, wife and children, to convincingly portray an improbable-to-believe lie for the rest of their lives.  Even if they could have pulled it off initially or for a long time, it would not have been a pleasant way to live.

Today I wrote on my 43Things account:

No one else makes you unkind to others.  If you are unkind, it is by your choice.

I’m not writing this post to sling mud at Elizabeth Lambert.  Her actions have become known, and she will choose the rest of her life to determine how else she will be defined.  There probably is not anyone who has played sports on a highly-competitive level who has not done something in a split-second decision they regret.  Most of us don’t have millions of people forever watching our momentary lapses of judgment.  I wish all the players involved the best going forward. 

We’re not simply defined by our mistakes.  We’re also defined by how we respond to them – by our accountability, our sincere apology, and where applicable, our realized restitution.

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Human Suffering

The above self-portrait is by Lauren Peralta.

(Click on the image if you wish to view it individually.)

© All rights reserved by Lauren Peralta.

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It’s not that suffering is necessary in order to create great art.  It’s that the further an artist is removed from understanding and speaking to common suffering, the less likely their art will be poignant to the common man.

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“Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.”
     ~ a quote by a famous person.  Who the person was is not as important as the quality of the ideas in the quote.

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U2 and Reports of the Death of Rock n’ Roll

   ~ by OneMoreOption

I was a little frustrated with the group U2 and some of the comments they recently made about Rock n’ Roll, the album format, and their rationale for lackluster interest in their latest album (that still sold over one million units).

Here is the article.

In a nutshell, they suggest popular rock music and the album format are antiquated – the formats may not connect with the surfing, short attention span, and multi-tasking modern, younger consumer.  U2 may be correct that each generation’s patience to take in time-intensive artworks becomes shorter. 

It may be true that fewer people read books, listen to an entire play or opera, or do many other time-intensive activities.  We do seem to be a sound bite, quote, and short video/picture consumer culture – always asking how we can gather and ingest information and feelings faster.

But musically, I didn’t hear anything distinctive on U2’s new album.  At least a million people listened carefully to the album, and yet nothing caught fire in the popular media.  Some criticism maybe should be placed on the music rather than on the medium or changing cultural tastes.

The other thing I did not get from the latest U2 album was a sense of understanding and speaking to common human suffering.  Where were the political protest songs that U2 became popular on?  Where were the endless long suffering songs that were the cornerstone of “The Joshua Tree” and most of their other albums?

U2 is still incredibly popular for what they have done.  But there may be some current backlash against 4 men who may safely control over a billion dollars between them, trying to write relevant songs that speak to the common man’s reality.

Many of us U2 fans are not looking for bigger stage effects, brighter lights, more technologically produced songs, or larger stadium tours.  Some of us are still focused on evaluating the quality of the songs and their lyrical messages.  And if the songs falter on those smaller levels, then they will likely speak less to the current generation.

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Can You Determine The Quality Of A Culture By The Quality Of Their Art?

.

Can You Determine The Quality Of A Culture By The Quality Of Their Art?

  ~ by OneMoreOption

Do you like the above artworks?

I do. 

I think they are excellent.

I admire their craftsmanship, professionalism, compositions, forms, and designs.

Do you think they come from a healthy culture?

Can you determine the health of a culture by their popular or condoned artworks?

The above artworks were approved of by The Third Reich’s artistic standards.

Here are the artists of the above artworks in their respective order:

Udo Wendel’s “The Art Magazine”

Fritz Mackensen’s ”The Baby”

Sepp Hilz’ “The Red Necklace” and  ”A Country Venus” “‘Bauerliche Venus”

Images from Wilhelm Prager’s film:  “Wege zu Kraft und Schönheit — Ein Film über moderne Körperkultur.”  In English:  “Ways to Strength and Beauty — A Film About Modern Physical Culture.”

Ernst Liebermann’s “By The Water”

Can you determine the quality of a culture by the quality of their art? 

No.

But interestingly, the Nazis thought you could judge an entire culture or race based on a few examples of their art.  The Nazis put on art shows officially termed Degenerate Art  (the English translation of entartete Kunst) that were intended to be persuasive exhibitions supporting racist philosophies.

The Art of The Third Reich on Wikipedia

Can you determine the healthiness of a culture by the art they exclude?

Probably not.  But their exclusions will inform you more about their social mores and policing forces.

Sepp Hilz posing with his model around 1939:

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Redefining You

The above artowrk titled “emmène moi” is by sonia de spa.

(Click on the image if you wish to view it individually.)

© All rights reserved by sonia de spa.

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Redefining You

  ~ by OneMoreOption

There are people more interested in making themselves beautiful.

There are people more interested in making everything around them more beautiful.

There are people interested in both.

There are fewer people who are effective at doing both.

Generally, the more sophisticated something is, the more work, focus, and consistency is required to maintain its beauty.

Beauty is not simple for sophisticated creatures.

Even “keeping things simple” is not simple for sophisticated creatures.

Being artful is less often about creating something from nothing.

Being artful is more about making the best out of what interacts with you.

Being artful is a conscious choice more than a happy accident.

In the long run, beauty is not a balanced set of genetic markers.

In the long run, beauty is more a balanced set of choices and actions.

It’s not that others will be unable to “love you just the way you are.”

It’s that you should not ask them to.

The effect of being someone who is unwilling to adapt themself for the benefit of others is that you end up being someone who is unwilling to adapt themself for the benefit of others.

Beauty may be natural, but it does not endure without adaptive design and actions.

Whoever you are is who you choose to be.

The definition of “you” is ultimately what you define it to be.

And you choose whether to write your life’s story along the paths you intended from your youth or along the newer paths you have seen since then.

Ultimately, the primary thing defining you is not your circumstances and surroundings.  Ultimately, you have the choices how to define you.

You should cling to the dreams of your adolescence only as much as those dreams continue to have merit.

“First” dreams or initial dreams have no more genuine value than their value in the light of what you know today.

A “calling” is only as strong of a predilection as the evaluative information you knew at the time of the “calling.”  It can be as fickle and subject to error as any human knowledge or prediction.

To be humane is to adapt considerately to the needs in others around you as you inherently learn more.

Do not delude yourself into thinking your insensitivity is simply independence.

To be artful is to place the needs of others in balance with your own needs.

To love is not “to care for” as much as it is “to do your best for.”

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