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Gaze at little things
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The Philosophy (beliefs and practice) of

The International Movement for the Art of Life

Living life as Art can transform your life as you recognise that one of God's gifts to us is the ability to both be AMAZED by, and to ENJOY, his creation and the life He gives us.

12 KEYS for LIVING LIFE as ART

by Werner May

  Key 5

To make celebrations "real" by using pearls

We expect of celebrations that they are beautiful by themselves. They lift us, uplift us emotionally, out of everyday life, excite us. Such celebrations can be: A wedding, a birth, religious, cultural or political celebrations of any kind.

But eventually routine can steal itself into the good habit of celebrating. Then outer glamour (make-up) is supposed to hide the fact that the celebration is “worn” and the reason for the feast is forgotten or no longer appreciated. Every good celebration is characterized not by the amount of wine, not by extravagant contributions, expensive or cheap jewellery but by sincere interest in the reason for the celebration. And this interest should be shown!

The food and the drinks, the dresses, the music and the dancing arrange around this interest. Then all is beautiful - but can become even more beautiful by one or two “pearls”. And sometimes, when the glamour already suffers by habit, it can glow again by these “pearls”.

The feast, the celebration is part of the human being! Livinglifeasart absolutely approves this. And Livinglifeasart also wants to encourage to make one or two “pearls” shine especially within all the already existing or expected festive shine. To beautify something and thereby prepare for habit what is already beautiful by itself, does not require much, only an almost ingenious idea, one pearl, nothing else.

What could such “pearls” be?
That’s not easy to say, it’s more of an creative act, thus a breaking free from habits in the service of the actual occasion of the celebration, of the feast. Maybe staging a memory of previous celebrations of the same occasion creatively, maybe bringing one of the many forgotten things back to light to remember it together with others, maybe only a flower as a present. This also depends on what fits best.

I can think of the following examples: to bring a still unknown picture from the family history to a family reunion, to make a (short) speech on a wedding, sharing only one valuable thought combined with a simple, symbolic present. Such tips can be helpful but the originality and the value in your heart matter most in order that something becomes a pearl.

Art of Life excercise
 
  • At every celebration recall the actual reason for it. Ask yourself what the celebration is all about and to what extent you can identify yourself with it. Keep this in mind when thinking about the pearls you could contribute that illustrate this occasion symbolically, creatively, decoratively or in a concentrated way or that open a new perspective.
 
  • Rediscover the Sunday that is more than a day off: Accept it really as a day of rest – the day of the week on which God alone takes care of our businesses – finally we do not stand in his way – and celebrate God`s salvation of our life.

To make both shine, a pearl can provide great service:
Inviting someone for dinner, a trip instead of the routine walk; an extensive breakfast or none at all but staying in bed “for ever”…
Decide to not consider church as an obligation or for making business but as a time for meeting God and other people.
Is there a pearl for this once in a while?

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Updated May 18, 2009     Home >> Philosophy Werner's Page >> Key 5