Whatever happened to free time?

Finally the holidays are here - including lots of ice and snow and really cold temperatures. The low temperature yesterday showed minus 16 Fahrenheit (or minus 26 Celsius) - and that is not counting the wind. But what else is to be expected in Minnesota? I can rest assured that I am the only member of my family to actually have the obligatory "white Christmas"- my father and stepfather being in northern Germany, they are unlikely to get snow: their winter typically consists more of rain than snow. And my mother in Ghana and my uncle somewhere in South America, well, they certainly won't get snow either...

And I have the unbelievable luxury of having two weeks off straight. What a rare thing in a society that is so fast paced that most people can never stop to look at the clouds, dream, or connect with their innermost self. As a teacher, I get most of the school vacations off and that is a somewhat special position. Certainly, there is work to do over this time, such as preparing classes, filling out evaluation forms, reviewing some videos, and so on, but it is done at home at my convenience.

I remember well from those years when I worked for a major Insurance Company that most corporate employees are not that lucky. The average American worker barely does get two weeks vacation over the whole year - far not enough to ever be able to really recuperate. One may need these two weeks over the year just to run errands, or catch up with things in the house or other family obligations. But forget about a real vacation or even enough time spent at home to feel that it is really a home and not just some place where one sleeps.

I am convinced that people who get 4 weeks or more off per year (and actually take it off, too) are happier, healthier, and more productive too. Once again, Europe leads the example: everyone starts out with 4 weeks paid vacation, and over the years this can accumulate to as much as 8 weeks vacation. Is Germany's economy less productive than the US economy because of that? I don't think so. To the best of my knowledge the economies of the leading European countries (such as Germany, France, England) have been at least as strong as the US economy, and the people have certainly enjoyed a less frantic pace of life. As a consequence, they have better health and a longer life expectancy!

(For a more complete answer to this question, see the excellent book by Jeremy Rifkin called "The European Dream"; available at amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/European-Dream-Europes-Eclipsing-American/dp/1585424358/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230096512&sr=8-1).

But back to my two weeks off. With both Gio's and my family strewn over four continents, we don't really have any family obligations either. (That is not to say we wouldn't like to see them, it is just not so easy when the family is overseas. So far, I have only been able to visit once every couple of years).

Instead, I actually get time to myself - and I can't wait to be creative in any shape or form. Forget about the house that needs cleaning, laundry that hasn't been ironed, or a pile of paperwork that wants to be done. I can't wait to write and to paint, to have a creative outlet that I have neglected for some time.

I think we are all made to be creative in some way, and the lack of time to do so is an ailment rampant in our society. As I said in my last post, art refines us. Exposure to great art refines us, and creating art ourselves - at whatever level of laymanship or professionalism- keeps us happy and intimately connected with Life itself.

Being creative can be as simple as journaling or even taking in a beautiful sunset or a spectacular starry night. In the end, it has all to do with cultivating our connection to the Divine - something that stubbornly refuses to be done in a rush. If every minute of our lives is scheduled, and even time off is used to driving the kids around, doing chores in the house and trying to fulfill all the "shoulds" of social life, it is unlikely that we can maintain an inner equilibrium.

The funny thing in our society is that, if we take time for ourselves, for any such "selfish" pursuit such as meditation, art, or whatever it is that makes us feel whole and happy - we are called just that: selfish. But nothing could be further from the truth, because we cannot serve those around us without a connection to our innermost self, the part of us that is a spark of the Divine. An empty cup will simply not have anything to give unless it first replenishes itself.

In my opinion, Life is a balance of giving and receiving. While the pace of life may have sped up, we are still human: we still need 8 hours of sleep, and skipping on sleep will not serve us or anyone else in the long run. We still need downtime, even though society tells us that adults are not "productive" if they have downtime. We still need to connect with the wonder of life, even though we are not children anymore. If we fail to do so, we risk ending up dead inwardly, unhappy, and, in the worst case, sick. And how can a sick and unhappy person serve life in any way?

So, whatever happened to free time? It is what we make of it. We can choose to oblige the message of society, ever trying to catch up with a never-ending list of things that must be done, or we can choose to listen to that soft voice inside us, that reminds us to oblige our hearts. While there is a time to work hard and heed the responsibilities of daily life, there also is a time to slow down and become conscious of the "fingerprint of God" everywhere around us. May Christmas be just the right time for reflection of those things!

I, for my part, will do so over walks in nature, writing poetry, and attending to as many colors and canvases as I can. :-)

Ballet, the "Cultured Class", and the Importance of Great Art

Yesterday my boyfriend and I went to see a performance of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. I was very curious to see the choreography to Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana", a piece of music that I have been in love with ever since I first heard it. (For those who are not familiar with this piece: it is a cantata written by Carl Orff, based on latin texts that were found in 1803 in a Bavarian monastery). While parts of the choreography were intricate and interesting (such as the pas-de-deux in 'Cours d'amours'), I thought that other parts were sadly lacking in the fantastic energy the music displays (particulary "O Fortuna"). Also, I thought the abilities of the male dancers were not used as fully as they could have.

But apart from a not quite convincing choreography, it is always interesting to look around and see what the audience is like. Who comes to a Ballet like this, one that is not as well known as, say, the ubiquitous "Nutcracker" of the Christmas season? Or asked differently, who will spend around $50 per ticket to go see a Ballet that requires some more specialized knowledge? Looking around, I usually see - of course - dancers, dance students serious enough to care to go, and any combination of former dance professionals (like myself). And outside the dance community? Inevitably, it is "the cultured class": intellectuals, students, artists, people who are either affluent enough to afford the tickets or who care enough for the arts to spend the money. Noticably, the theater was crowded and seemed close to be sold out, as far as I could see. ("Carmina Burana" tends to be a crowd-pleaser).

But go and ask anyone of my students - kids who are already involved in dance at a competition school! - and the fewest of those will ever have heard of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet (or any other major Ballet company), or classical pieces of music such as Carmina Burana. And try this with the general public and you will draw blank stares. Even college educated people often don't know "Carmina Burana". (And forget about anyone who didn't go to College).

So what kind of people take an interest in truly great art, such as you can expect from a company like the Royal Winnipeg Ballet? What kind of people keep great art alive through the interest and support they are giving them? And what kind of people, for example, rather spend Saturday night in a bar or in front of the TV?

After quizzing my boyfriend we decided it has not as much to do with affluence and priviledge as it seems. After all, an evening in a bar or a shopping trip to the Mall of America may easily cost as much. In the end, he said, it has to do with curiosity. People who are curious enough to learn something new will go despite the high price of the tickets. (That was certainly true for me).

And what do we get back in return? In one word, refinement. Great art refines us intellectually and spiritually. Great art draws us to higher dimensions in both heart and mind. It is a force that lifts us to our highest potential, rather than to our lowest instincts. It is the Soul expressing not just "joie de vivre" but "joie d'existence". All that is alive must express creativity in some way, from the simple act of procreation in plants and animals to the creation of art in sentient beings. It is interesting and encouraging to note that even through the worst of times, art has always endured. It may have relocated - from ancient Greece to Rome, after the fall of the Western Roman Empire to Byzantium, or from the chaos of the Russian Revolution to Paris (as in the case of the "Ballets Russes"), but it always endured, even thrived. The human spirit will keep expressing itself and thus touch and lift the collective consciousness of humankind.

Maybe this can serve as an encouraging thought in times of economic uncertainty and ever constant cuts of funding to the arts. It can, however, also be a warning: we need not only enough artists, but also enough curious people who will support the arts.

President Obama!

To the immense relief and open joy of most people around the world, Barack Obama did get elected President of the United States last Tuesday. The hope and optimism is as tangible as it must also be an enormous responsibility, perhaps even burden, to the new president elect. All over the world hopes have been expressed for a reconciliation of America with the world, of peace, of an end to unilateralism and warmongering. The wave of goodwill that welcomes Obama into his new office is amazing. So this is what it looks like if the world, or even one country, has a leader who really listens to the people! As I said in my last post, the real responsibility of a political leader is "to build and preserve the conditions a people need to thrive spiritually and materially". If indeed there is one who genuinely does so (rare as that may be), the people react with an out pour of love and goodwill. The best leader is the one who brings out the best in people. So far, Obama has truly inspired the majority of the American people as well as people all over the world. He carries a torch of hope and healing - but needless to say, the road ahead is daunting. As he said in his acceptance speech, the situation could hardly be more dismal: two wars, a planet in peril, and the worst economic crisis of a century. I personally neither doubt Obama's sincerity nor his ability to get things done. What I wonder about is how many obstacles will be in his way. How many are there with ulterior motives who will just try to manipulate, deceive, or worse, threaten him? How much will he be able to look through, and avoid, bad advise and corruption? How many compromises will he have to make, and how often will there only be a choice between two bad choices?

There are those who say that the world is really controlled by a handful of men known to conspiracy theorists as "the Elite". World leaders may often only play a surface role in events that were purposefully created by shadowy figures behind the scenes. Even though I don't necessarily want to buy into such a worldview, I think that the events of the last 8 years leave little doubt that there must be at least some truth to this view point. The question is if one wise and sincere man could rise above this mess of self interest and corruption and indeed reinstate the idea of the American Dream. Is it possible to believe that something good could actually come out of politics?

I, for my part, choose to believe so.

Philosopher King

Anyone remember Plato's ideas about the "ideal state"? In a nutshell (for more indepth reading, read book VII of Plato's "Republic") - he believed that the ideal leader of a state would be a "Philosopher King". What did he mean with that? It is good to remember that the term "Philosophy" in his days meant something different than what we understand under it today. Today we think of Philosophy as an intellectual way of pondering the problems of life, a theoretesizing of matters such as reality, existence, truth, ethics, beauty, justice, and so on. While that has it's value, I believe what Plato understood under it went beyond a mere intellectual pondering of life. Philosophy derives from the ancient greek word φιλοσοφία (philosophía), and means as much as "friend" or "lover" of wisdom. Plato meant real wisdom. Today we have little understanding what that is, and certainly little measurement for it. Real wisdom is a combination of knowledge and experience, and is inseparable from qualities such as, for example, love and compassion. Plato's ideal "King" would have been trained not only in a mental education but in a spiritual one. He would have been trained to know firsthand what Plato called the world of ideas - the true "forms" or origins of everything that is "behind" this world, with this world only being a shadow of the higher planes, or dimensions, of truth. I personally believe that Plato's understanding of this spiritual training had more to do with the ancient Egyptian Mystery Schools than regular scholars today might accept.

Certainly, throughout history there have been those who were inspired by Plato's ideas and have taken them astray (see, for example, the Ayatolla Khomeini). The problem with those was that they thought they had wisdom - and that in itself already shows a lack of humility which certainly doesn't come along with true wisdom. Socrates, for example, was known to say "I know that I don't know" - which, in Plato's understanding, would be the mark of true wisdom (and humility).

The reason this comes to mind is, of course, the election... I dare say we would badly need a "Philosopher President" these days. Of course, we are sadly inept to decide or have any inkling of what true wisdom would look like. Who is to decide what wisdom looks like? There are probably as many opinions as there are citizens. Also, the education system is lacking in any sort of training in "wisdom". All they do is cram knowledge - facts, that is - in young people's heads. While knowledge is important, what does it teach a new generation of how to live life - a happy, healthy, and fulfilling life? I feel I was blessed in having had the opportunity to have a Philosophy major for more than two years. I may have forgotten some of the "facts", but what stayed with me is a greater intellectual freedom, an ability to think for myself and be able to stand back and consider that not all might be as it seems. I consider that one of the greatest gifts of my school time, something that will stay with me for life.

There would be, of course, much more to be said about Plato's ideas. We know that in this world, an ideal society cannot exist and that is probably a good thing. But I wonder if not a little more wisdom and compassion in government would go a long way. After all, to govern a people is really a spiritual responsibility... it is a job that requires to build and preserve the basic conditions that a people need to thrive both materially and spiritually. True leadership is not about power, it is about service! Sadly, it seems that while some leaders come into office with the best of intentions, they are either corrupted by power, or made ineffective, or, in the worst case, killed.

In the end, it looks like all we can do is to develop Plato's quality of wisdom ourselves. Mahatma Gandhi said "Be the change you wish to see in the world". That means we can only change the world if we first change ourselves, and in order to bring more love, light, and peace into the world we have to first develop those qualities in our own hearts and minds.

Two countries

I am an immigrant. In the classic sense - I came to the United States 10 years ago with nothing but two suitcases and an admission to one of the great Dance Schools in New York City. I wanted to dance, but even more so, I wanted to find a way to stay legally in the US. For some reason, I have always been strongly drawn to this country. Maybe it was the two summers I spent here when I was a child, maybe it was something deeper and older, a destiny shaped long ago in past lifetimes.

I did stay - legally - and I did dance. 10 years later, I am still here and have no plans of ever going back to my native country, Germany.

When I first came here, I admired the qualities that I saw in Americans - an ingenuity, creativity and can-do spirit that I found lacking in my home country. I was in love with the US, albeit certainly naively so. Not only have the past 10 years revealed some of the darker sides of this country, it also seems to me that the very nature of the US has changed dramatically over this time (and not for the better).

While my occupation is professional Dance, I cannot help but observe and note many strange and worrysome tendencies that seem to develop in the US. Looking back at my experiences growing up in Germany, I realize that many of the things I enjoyed and took for granted are not at all available to many people here.

In Germany my family never had to worry that if one of us would get sick we wouldnt' be able to pay the doctor bills. It was unheard of that anyone would be without healthinsurance.
It was equally unheard of that anyone wouldn't be able to afford the education they desired.
And as for the quality of healthcare and education, I can't help but have the sneaking impression that both were of a much higher standard than here in the US. Or, put in different words, there is a fantastic standard of healthcare and education available here, but only for those affluent enough to be able to pay for it. And that would probably be only the top 5% of the US population.

This glaring inequality is somewhat shocking for a German. Then again, when I left Germany I was thoroughly annoyed with what I call "entitlement thinking" among many Germans. This is certainly the downside of any socialist system and the classic argument against socialism: it supposedly weakens the human spirit in getting people used to a government taking care of them. But it is not quite as simple as that either - because Germany has a highly educated and highly skilled people as a result of higher education being available to everyone. And as a result of that, Germany has not only a better footing in international competition, but also has a reflective populace who would never have accepted anything as crazy as, for example, the Iraq war!

The US has many puzzling contradictions and tensions among it's people. It has it's share of brilliant liberal intellectuals but it also has, on the other end of the scale, fundamentalist Christians who believe that everything in the Bible is to be taken literally (I was shocked when I first heard this) and who want "Creationism" to be taught in schools (and thus make themselves the laughing stock of other countries). It has incredible wealth and incredible poverty, both materially and spiritually. It has amazing beauty in it's national parks and wildlife refuges and the same time it has politicians who fervently argue for drilling for oil in some of the most pristine of places. It has developments in alternative and energy medicine that are as of yet unheard of in other countries but it also has the FDA that is trying to destroy everything that is a threat to the income of the pharmaceutical industry.

Someone who has lived in two or more different countries has probably always a unique viewpoint on the intricacies of daily living and may be able to see aspects that would otherwise remain hidden. I am going to try to share my observations on the social and spiritual aspects of life in the United States based on my background of having grown up in Germany, and thus try to understand the apparent contradictions that are found in this country.