The WAY you are is the Way to be.

"To see and understand is wisdom. To look and love is humanity. To determine and decide is courage. To control things universally and to use them for all is impartiality. To be able to match all things is penetration. To have or not to have the proper circumstance is destiny. The way by which all things emerge from vacuity is the Way. To follow the principles of the world without altering them and to attain one's end is virtue. To attend to life, to be in society, and to love universally is humanity. To follow order and to evaluate what is proper is righteousness. To get hold of the Way, virtue, humanity, and righteousness and put them into application is called the business of life. To make clear the achievement of nature and throw light on all things is called yang. To be hidden, without form, deep and unfathomable, is called yin. Yang knows yang but does not know yin. Yin knows yin but does not know yang. The Profound Principle alone knows both yin and yang, both going and stopping, and both darkness and light."

--Tai Hsuan Ching (Classic of the Supremely Profound Principle) (9)7: 5a-9b

One life is essentially two. Yin and Yang present themselves to each and every one of us in every moment we face. One side is calm while the other energetic. Of course I like to compare the dual sides of Yin and Yang to the life of an artist as he/she goes through the creative process. Before my brush hits the canvas, before I code the webpage or flash animation, I am a husband, father, brother and friend. But as I begin to move into the world of visual interpretation, things alter. This is no different than the athlete or the performer. I often have to step into character and “Become” the label.

It is funny that I would classify these ideas after a passage of Taoist writings. Because the Tao really is about being “shapeless, formless like water” (Again Bruce Lee), we are who we are for the moment. There should be no label, but make no mistake you will become something someone can identify with. I suppose it is much like the weather. Rain or shine, it is still classified as the weather. You will still be labeled as “you” whether you are artist or friend. But how do you label yourself?

Oddly my journey into the Tao through some Martial Arts, friends, situations, and family has me questioning these labels right now. “I am” Today I am looking at myself through a window, wondering where the world of art will take me. On one hand I am driven to make money for bills and living, but on another crave the freedom of expression without real purpose other than aesthetics. It is possible that I am on a journey to find a union between the two. But that remains to be seen as I sit in front of another blank piece of paper gathering thoughts for the next art project. I am stepping into character again, becoming another version of me. I am moving into “The Way” which in the end defines who I am in this moment. No labels now, no thoughts, just lines and colors moving from head to hand. I feel, see, hear, and taste this process called creation. -Ultimately living the Tao of art or the way I am.