Quotes on the Arts/Poetry

"Poetry is nearer to vital truth than history." Plato

"Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen." Leonardo Da Vinci

The Song "Waiting on the World to Change" by John Mayer is one of my favorite songs. I love the lyrics, the music, but I only have a small problem with the redundant part of "Waiting on the world to change". Although the title, if we all waited for the world to change, then nothing would ever get accomplished. We need to change the world, and not wait for it to change.

When you look at life from a macroscopic perspective, you often see that the world is more similar than you realize. I was thinking about my past ancestry, and started to realize how complex it is to do. My extended family comes from the south, and just recently my grandparents moved up north. Unfortunately, it is difficult for me to trace my roots back so far, as many descendents of slaves cannot. I have an uncle on my mother's side who has blond hair and green eyes. I have a great aunt on my dad's side who is pure Cherokee, and my grandmother has very oriental features. My mom's side has English somewhere down the line, and my dad's side has Irish in the family lineage. As complicated and rich as this history sounds, it is alot easier just to say African American, although I, as many African Americans, do not know what part of Africa my family is originally from. I often wonder why my heritage has to be put under one category. Does it really define who I am? Or is it a simple way to group a large diverse group of people? I cannot say I am Nigerian/Liberian (or whichever part of Africa my ancestors came from), Irish, Cherokee, English, Blackfoot American. People who immigrated from, say, China, Italy, Japan, etc, are defined exactly as is, with the inclusion of -American. One thing that we all have in common in this macroscopic world, is that we are all human. And part of knowing where you're going is knowing where you came from.

One of many favorite quotes:

"The difference between school and life? In school, you're taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you're given a test that teaches you a lesson."

-Tom Bodett

There are many cliche sayings, such as "because that's life" or "nobody said things would be easy" or "life is not fair". Anytime turmoil hits us or things go wrong, we often resort to questioning why? Some are quick to point fingers or blame God, and the such. However, although the cliche statements are repeated millions of times, these sayings resonate true statements. If life was easy and we were all immortal, than that would not be living, but merely existing. Each day, we must try to do more than exist, we must live. Regardless, the macrocosmic aspects of the universe will continue on with or without us.

Macrocosm can be defined as a larger world that overlooks a smaller one. It is the entire universe that oversees us. This is important from a religious, physical and spiritual standpoint. We must realize that there is more to the world around us. That may be the purpose of life, to find a higher power, a deeper meaning to life. Seeing that we are part of a larger macrocosm lets us to realize that our world is microscopic compared to the vast universe. We are as insignificant as our deterioration at the end of time; as significant as our actions and deeds of goodness.