At the Guggenheim

Transform - Issue # 36 September 2007

At the Guggenheim

By Justus H Lewis, PhD

Yesterday I visited the Guggenheim, a collection of modern art from the 1940s to the present, currently on exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia.

Seeing these works of contemporary artists – inspiring, confronting, thought-provoking – reminded me of what a gamut of emotions we, as human beings, are capable of expressing and experiencing. Not all of them entirely pleasurable. A long time ago, the philosopher Plato talked about the mixture of attraction and revulsion that a person might experience towards looking at a rotting corpse. Much the same can be said of some of the exhibits in the Guggenheim. I didn’t particularly enjoy them but found myself irresistibly fascinated by what they expressed. And grateful for the talents of the artists who had the courage and capacity to create these modern masterpieces.

One particularly ambiguous piece – I don’t remember the name of the artist unfortunately – was entitled ‘Hanging House’. There it was, a squarish wooden construction, dangling about a foot off the floor, the front door open to invite inspection. Several of the people I observed, entered tentatively and stepped out again looking confused and bemused. Nothing inside – and no windows.

Many of these works were constructed with the intention of encouraging and provoking interaction with their audiences and many of the people visiting the exhibition yesterday wore that tranced-out look of absorption as they contemplated the exhibits.

What does all this have to do with inviting happiness?

I find myself struggling to find the words. It seems to me that art, or I would prefer to say, artists, invite us to journey into a larger world than our everyday reality. Through their work, they invite us to enlarge our emotional repertoire and to allow ourselves to travel to new emotional frontiers. Some of these may be highly confusing and disturbing. While few of us enjoy being confused or disturbed, allowing ourselves to be in these states with open-minded curiosity about their meaning and value can be a catalyst to take us to a new level of appreciation for our own uniqueness and also interconnectedness with the rest of life.

Happiness, I believe, is a complex emotion, meaning that our experience of happiness is affected by many factors. A loaf of bread or a cake can taste delicious, but the individual ingredients by themselves may be totally unpalatable. It’s only when the ingredients are combined in the right quantities, in the right environment, and with the right amount of heat, that the final product results.

It takes practice to bake a good loaf of bread or a good cake.

It takes practice – and an amount of talent – to create a work of art.

How much practice do we give ourselves in inviting happiness?

I believe we all have some talent for happiness but we don’t always give ourselves practice in using it. Practicing the art of happiness can take many forms. We can visit art exhibitions and allow ourselves to the moved by the emotions they evoke.

We can try our hand at expressing ourselves through art. Many women find great satisfaction and give enormous pleasure to others, by sewing the story of their lives into a quilt. This is painstaking work that demands enormous patience and attention to detail plus the ability to go back and forth between the big picture and the very specific details encompassed in the whole.

We can view our homes or our gardens as works of art that support and express our uniqueness and interconnectedness as human beings. We can view our lives as unique works of art, going beyond self-knowledge and mastery to the practice of artistry in life.

I’ll leave you with this thought – what are you doing right now to practice the art of happiness in your own life? If you have a suggestion or an inspiring story to share (as one of our readers did last month), please let me know.

To your deep happiness,

Justus

This is what one of our readers wrote in response to my request in last month’s newsletter to share what helped them make positive changes last.

Hi Justus,

Thank you for your latest newsletter Making Happiness Last. Here is what I found worked for me.

Making positive changes last:
Twelves months ago my cat developed a lump on his cheek. I took him to an excellent vet, who then referred him onto a specialist vet. I was told my cat's facial lump was very difficult to diagnose and treat, and the removal of the lump was a delicate operation of skin grafts, as it was close to his teeth. I had to make a decision to save my adorable bundle of joy, or to have him put to sleep. The medical costs I was quoted were huge, with no guarantees, but a 95% chance of recovery. The "fly in the ointment" was that I had no job to finance this medical operation.

I decided I wanted to keep my cat and set a goal to find work immediately, I couldn't turn back on my decision, so I said phooey to my fears, and ploughed ahead to gain a job to pay for the medical expenses.

Twelve months later I am happy to say that both my cat and I have completely recovered. My cat is a healthy bundle of joy once more tearing around the house chasing his sister and getting into the usual cheeky mischief. And I have recovered from my fears of returning to the workforce and have learnt so much about life in such a short time from one little cat.

I feel that making a goal and sticking to it, no matter what, is what kept my "ship on course".

Cheers,

Helen

Justus Lewis, PhD, coaches people and organizations who want to invite more happiness and helps therapists develop powerful effective websites that communicate the heart and soul of their business.