There is no better, only different

The walls in my house are experts at providing me with inspiration.  We’re quite a team, in fact- my walls and I. 

I like to hang quotes on my walls.  I have a list of Steve Job’s quotes sitting right next to me.  There’s a list titled “The 5 Simple Rules for Happiness” to my right and in my practice studio I have a sign that says “No boundaries!”  The walls here like to hold these small pieces of inspiration.  My house is fairly artistic and staying inspired is one of the top five concerns for any artist. 

Actually, there are quite a few concerns of any artist.  Also appearing somewhere on the ‘Top Five List of Artistic Concerns’ is usually jealousy; performers and musicians specifically.  I just got into a conversation the other day with an eighteen year old dancer who explained that she hated going to see professional dancers because she sits in the audience, a white knuckled grip on her seat, staring at these people who are phenomenally better than she is.  Instead of enjoying the show, she’s stuck thinking about how she can’t kick that high or move that fast. 

When I first started playing, I was the same way.  I’d listen to a guitarist and get angry about his (or her) performance.  It’s easy to sit there and judge other people’s performance and it was a fabulous past time.  Becoming jealous lead to a plethora of problems within myself- the first one starting with my self-esteem.  The more jealous I became, the more scared I got of playing in front of people.  Knowing there are more talented guitarists out there is intimidating, and I started to avoid playing with people whenever I could for fear that they would judge me the same way I judge everyone else.

A few years ago a fellow artist was talking about this exact problem.  He was a bit older and had been through the game before.  When he noticed my jealousy problem he said, “There is no better, only different.”  A light bulb clicked and I had an ‘aha’ moment. 

Each artist reaches a point in their career where they are competent at their craft.  Adele can sing.  So can Marilyn Manson.  Stick them next to each other and try to figure out who’s better.  You can’t, because it’s apples and oranges.  They’re both competent at what they do.  One isn’t better than the other, they’re just different. 

So it goes with art.  One person can’t be better at another because art is expression.  Art is the manifestation of human emotion.  How can one person’s emotion be better than another’s?  (Okay, a pitch-corrected studio cut or a lip-synched performance soooo doesn’t count as art.)  Since we live in America, where cultures, religions, languages, and people come from all different kinds of backgrounds, we’re already predisposed to accepting everyone’s different expressions. (Or so I should hope.)

Next time you’re feeling down on yourself for not being as good as someone else, just remember there is no better.  Only different.

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Till next time,
Lindy D.