Art of Living 

In our modern 21st-century life, it is easy to feel disoriented, distracted, and confused. We live in an increasingly complex civilization in which it can be a challenge to remain centered and cognizant of our true purpose in life: personal character growth and spiritual development. As a society, it is vital that we as individuals develop a way of living that can transcend the rapid changes. It is possible to contribute to our world by living a life that is consciously artistic in its achievement and inclusive of others.

Such an artistic life means that we identify an exalted goal for life, a supreme life purpose that will call forth the very best in our nature. We are called to rise above the irritation that accompanies lower levels of thinking: worry, jealousy, revenge, anger, and overarching pride – to those higher levels that encompass truth, goodness, and beauty.

Animals have no ability to live such a life; theirs is an instinctive way of life, with little thought. We are of animal origin, but we are called to rise above our origins and foster the recognition of true value and meaning through spiritual insight. We are called to recognize our cosmic citizenship and the nobility of our destiny. The gospel of the kingdom of heaven – that we are children of God and brothers and sisters to each other – adds a new and rich incentive to our everyday lives that can supply color and depth to our palette.

In order to achieve a working art of living, we must be able to meet our basic needs. One basic need in life for everyone concerns discovering and mastering some reliable techniques for solving life’s common problems. There are three steps in solving any problem; 1) locate the difficulty, 2) isolate the problem, and 3) honestly evaluate the nature of the problem and its seriousness. It never works to ignore problems when they arise. It is also futile to cling to false feelings of security. If solving a problem involves subduing our ego, admitting that we are envious or angry, or that we need to let go of long-held prejudices, we must admit such things to ourselves honestly and fearlessly before the problem can be fixed.

Everyone needs to find a way to procure the necessities of life. Although we may have spiritual growth as our goal, life in the material world requires certain necessities. So, we have the double challenges of temporal living and securing our eternal survival. Our religious stance in life can be helpful for both needs. Because we carry within us the spirit of God who lives our lives with us day in and day out, connecting with and consulting with this beneficent spirit presence becomes the mediation between material things and spiritual realities. It’s good to know that we don’t have to always "go it alone" in life.

The will of God is divine truth, living love. Love identifies the volitional will of God.

The intelligent seeking and choosing of the Father’s will can contribute greatly to the art of living. Jesus taught the conscious, active, and alert submission to the Father’s will, free of anxiety and worry. We must not view the world as an enemy, but view the circumstances of our life as a divine plan given to us by God as he works along with us through his indwelling spirit.

In seeking God’s will, we should be mindful of Jesus’ teaching about not resisting evil, but returning good for evil instead. We don’t have to be passively tolerant of evil or wrongdoing, but we must use discretion in our efforts to combat it.

In all of our dealings with others, we should be mindful that we choose not to give in to feelings of revenge or retaliation. All such matters must be left to God’s justice to sort out. Jesus summarized his teachings regarding these matters as follows:

1. Love your enemies—remember that we are all part of the human brotherhood.
2. Two wrongs do not make a right. No evil is righted by vengeance. Never fight evil with its own weapons.
3. Have faith and be confident in the eventual triumph of divine justice and eternal goodness.

These attitudes about following God’s will can only enhance the beauty of an artistic life.

When we choose to live our lives informed by spiritual realities and higher values, this choice ennobles us and helps us to achieve true self-respect. Self-respect is not the pride of self-admiration. True self-respect is always paired with the love of our fellows and the desire to be of service to them. The more we love our neighbor, the more we can love and respect ourselves. And this corollary works both ways: the more we love and respect ourselves, the more we will love our neighbor.

One of the best things we can do for our own personal character growth is to examine the way we respond to negativity in our lives. Are we quick to return an insult if we are insulted? Do we offer threats if we are challenged? Or is our innate poise unruffled when confronted by evil or hurt? The answers to these questions are a measure of the success or failure of our efforts to make our lives a work of art.

Self-forgetfulness and self-control are elements of true artistic levels of living. If we understand the value of self-control, we can cultivate it in our daily life. Jesus said: "he who rules his own self is greater than he who captures a city."

But this new way of living cannot be achieved merely by wishing it to be so or by the practice of self-denial. It is vital that we understand the importance of allowing ourselves to be transformed by calling upon our inner spiritual resources when faced with difficulty. This inner spiritual presence allows us to realize the dignity of our status as liberated children of God. And as such, we seek to perform the will of our Father which always brings inner joy and true self-respect.

When we have been born of the spirit through identification with God in our inner being, it becomes much easier to rise above petty irritations. Because once we are born of the spirit, we are saved by faith and we can enjoy true peace with God. This rebirth of the spirit is a progressive experience of regeneration. We gradually begin to understand that the Father’s will for us brings joy. It ceases to be a duty, but a great privilege to walk the path of self-mastery.

Our sincere faith in God and his goodness will lead us to a true desire to put aside the old way of life that allowed fear and pride to keep us from a triumphant and artistic life. This faith is itself a gift of God and works through love – love of God, of oneself, and love for others. It is this abiding faith that allows us to be victorious masters of ourselves, liberated children of God.

It is no longer necessary to live a life of self-consciousness and worry over our desires. Instead, we live in the joyful kingdom of the spirit. In this kingdom, we find it easy to bear the fruits of the spirit in our dealings with our fellows. This happy life becomes the highest type of joy – that of voluntary self-control or true self-mastery.

Jesus loved to teach through parables. One of the parables that is illustrative of our ability to create an artistic life is the parable of the white lily. The white lily has its roots in the muck and slime of the earth, but it raises its beautiful snowy white head into the sunshine and gladdens the world. Jesus taught: "Likewise mortal man, while he has his roots of origin and being in the animal soil of human nature, can by faith raise his spiritual nature up into the sunlight of heavenly truth and actually bear the noble fruits of the spirit."

The fruits of the spirit are the natural result of being born of the spirit and making the choice to live according to God’s will. Almost without exception, the fruits of the spirit are developed through association with others and through personal spiritual experience with love and brotherhood. The fruits of the spirit are loving service, unselfish devotion, courageous loyalty, sincere fairness, enlightened honesty, undying hope, confiding trust, merciful ministry, unfailing goodness, forgiving tolerance, and enduring peace.

Unlike our animal cousins, human beings communicate with each other about ideas and ideals. Without other people in our lives, we wither and fade in isolation. Our associations of friendship and mutual affection allow us to be the social beings that we are and allow us to enhance the higher levels of the art of living in the following ways:

1. Mutual self-expression and self-understanding. We need each other to share our inner feelings and desires. It is not good for us to be alone. We benefit by recognizing and appreciating each other because this leads to the positive development of our character. In a way, we become mirrors for one another, seeing our strengths and weaknesses and discovering ourselves in the process. In human life, marriage and family provide the ideal matrix for such development; but it can also be realized by people of the same sex, in genuine friendship.
2. Union of souls—the mutual activation of wisdom. In intelligent friendship, we share our spiritual values, and each friend benefits by sharing and gaining the insight of the other. We enrich each other through such mutual sharing. Sharing with another also prevents us from becoming fearful, envious, or conceited – traits that can afflict anyone who is too much alone. Jesus wisely sent his apostles out two-by-two for just such reasons.
3. The enthusiasm for living. Being too much alone can be exhausting to our inner spiritual strength. But when we regularly associate with others we can renew our zest for life and we can gain courage to live our best life. Having a friend doubles the joys of life and it can cut the sorrows of life in half. Association with a friend helps us to stimulate imagination, especially when that friend shares a common cause – mutual loyalty to spiritual ideals. There is great spiritual power inherent in such a friendship.
4. Mutual defense against life’s stresses. Having an affectionate friendship greatly reduces the stresses and the stings of life: difficulties, sorrow, disappointment, and defeat. These are far more painful when experienced alone. In spite of the "wisdom of the world," this is not a self-centered universe. It is a good feeling to know that you live for the welfare of others and that they live for your welfare, too. Having a long-range view of our destiny as children of God is an inspiring stance in life and can challenge us to do our best. And when we have that attitude, it becomes easier to live unselfishly for others and to help them along with us in creating an artistic life of mutual benefit.

Every one of us will experience failure in life. If we can learn how to use failure to our advantage, failure becomes simply a learning experience. We must learn how to fail gracefully. There is an art in defeat that can enhance the art of living. Once we accept the nobility of our existence and destiny we can learn how to lose cheerfully and not be afraid of disappointment. We can move forward with hope in a better future. Once we know better, we’ll do better.

When failure comes, it’s always best to admit it honestly. Don’t try to sugarcoat it with false optimism and deceptive smiles. Face the facts squarely because it’s important to stay grounded in reality. Denying one’s failures only leads to worse disillusionment down the road.

Success is wonderful but we only learn true wisdom by adjusting ourselves to the results of our failures. Let your spiritual idealism embrace the facts and try to view these episodes in the light of your long-range spiritual outlook. Defeat then becomes just a new tool that we can use to take us to the next level of universe reality.

We may not be best friends with everyone. But if you love only those people that love you back, you’ll find that your life becomes narrow and harder than it needs to be. Without an artistic approach to relationships, without a wider view of our brothers and sisters, love is often given only when it is returned. That is the worldly approach to love. Once we experience the love of God, we can’t help but want to share it. It fills us up and overflows. And when we find someone who is fearful, angry, or abrasive, we rejoice to share our love with them because in truth, they need it the most. It’s important to know that true love does not originate with any individual; all true love is from God and it cannot be self-contained, only shared.

These attitudes work to effect change in even difficult people; they are called into the love of God that spills out through the true believer and life artist. When we approach the world-at-large with this attitude we will become artistic in finding good techniques like this that will lead hungry souls into the spiritual kingdom. And this, in turn, will strengthen all social ties and improve civilization.

One of the most important ways we can live peaceably with others is to develop our powers of tact and tolerance. We can accomplish a lot through tact, which is characterized by sensitivity, consideration, and thoughtful understanding of another. We try to see another’s point of view instead of being sarcastic or just ignoring them; we walk in their shoes, as it were, for a time. Tolerance is characterized by patience, open-mindedness, and forbearance of others – even when we don’t agree with them, or even particularly like them.

If you are able to cultivate these charming gifts you will be able to reach a point where you can avoid most social misunderstandings. You can learn to be the leaven that sweetens any social situation. Again, this is an artistic approach to relationships with others that many cannot achieve. Some people are lacking in emotional adjustment, some people refuse to grow up and some refuse to grow old gracefully. And these kinds of folks will always have trouble with relationships; but you don’t have to be one of them, even while you tolerate them and tactfully deal with them to the best of your ability.

But we’ll never achieve real success unless we are able to win the support and cooperation of other people. It is important to learn how to be persuasive with others. Tact and tolerance are vital to achieving this kind of success. We need never engage in a battle of wits to prove we are right. Practicing the art of tact and tolerance helps us to gracefully and graciously win over even the most abrasive of our fellows.

The highest happiness is indissolubly linked with spiritual progress. Spiritual growth yields lasting joy, and peace which passes all understanding.

A connection with God and his spirit that lives within us is a key element in creating an artistic life. Having a relationship with God supplies mediation between the material life and spiritual reality. Faith in God and acceptance of the good news of his Fatherhood, with the resulting realization of our kinship with all other human beings, is the cornerstone of a successful and happy life. This good news is the basis of true religion. It is the good news that Jesus preached and that he lived.

True religion is a living love, a life of service. Genuine religion takes nothing away from human existence, but it does add new meanings to all of life; it generates new types of enthusiasm, zeal, and courage.

Here are a few things that Jesus had to say about this new religion of the spirit and why it is helpful for a good and happy life:

"The world is filled with hungry souls who famish in the very presence of the bread of life; men die searching for the very God who lives within them. Men seek for the treasures of the kingdom with yearning hearts and weary feet when they are all within the immediate grasp of living faith. Faith is to religion what sails are to a ship; it is an addition of power, not an added burden of life. There is but one struggle for those who enter the kingdom, and that is to fight the good fight of faith. The believer has only one battle, and that is against doubt—unbelief.

"You shall not portray your teacher as a man of sorrows. Future generations shall know also the radiance of our joy, the buoyance of our good will, and the inspiration of our good humor. We proclaim a message of good news which is infectious in its transforming power. Our religion is throbbing with new life and new meanings. Those who accept this teaching are filled with joy and in their hearts are constrained to rejoice evermore. Increasing happiness is always the experience of all who are certain about God.

"When my children once become self-conscious of the assurance of the divine presence, such a faith will expand the mind, ennoble the soul, reinforce the personality, augment the happiness, deepen the spirit perception, and enhance the power to love and be loved."

It is easy to see that the addition of faith, belief, and religion of the spirit can contribute in a very positive way to the achievement of an artistic, happy, and successful life. With continual practice, we gain personal experience of the value of such a religion.

Jesus led the epitome of an artistic life. Jesus was a divine Creator Son, but he was also a human being, as we are. And so, we can learn some of the ways in which Jesus made his life as a man among men into a work of art. The people loved Jesus, and for good reason:

1. He was a person who was cheerful and gracious. Real graciousness arises from a love-saturated soul and is always sincere. Jesus was truly sincere; there was nothing of the hypocrite in him. He was always refreshingly genuine.
2. Jesus was never in a hurry. He was a good friend and a good listener, but he did not probe into peoples’ inner lives; he never tried to manage anyone. He always appealed to the best in human nature, and when he was in the company of another human being, he gave them his whole attention.
3. He did wonderful things "as he passed by," naturally and without premeditation. He just scattered happiness in a natural way as he lived his daily life. Jesus trusted the Father in heaven. He trusted his Father as a little child trusts his earthly parents. He was gentle and humble in his personal life.

We may never achieve a life just like Jesus’, but as his followers, we can learn to live a life of simplicity; an artistic life full of inner happiness; a life dedicated to truth, beauty, and goodness. We can minister to our fellows like he did, as we pass by. Striving for a life of goodness, cheer, and artistic expression – informed by faith, realized through personal experience, and shared with others – is worth the effort.