Living
Pushing up and out
I met a streetwise young man who worked at Panera Bread and we had a brief chat. He was an Irish boy, had some rough times, but was clever and shrewd, almost too much so for his own good. In a sense he took tremendous risks but when he fell, an aunt or brother would pick him up. As such he never really had to learn a lesson. Still, he had insight in some ways.
I told him I was an artist and there seemed to be forces that tried to push me downwards, and that it was difficult just to be regular and steady in my pursuits. Bringing in some money and doing some art wasn't enough. Being a regular guy who does art wasn't enough. One couldn't survive that way. So one is forced to push up and out. Instead of being pushed down, you have to push up and assert your being onto the world. This is normally counter intuitive in
terms of being a decent human being, but today it is a survival mechanism. And even if this doesn’t work, it is a necessary step along the path.
Kyle said “good man” and agreed.