Art is "the world without rules". It is the product of a mind for a mind, and the definition of "good" is a hazy blur that never actually comes into focus. Realizing how subjective art is, how it is "absolutely" subjective, is the single most quintessential milestone in any artists life because that is when the artist gains perspective. They make one of two choices. Many decide that a world without rules is an absurd notion and because they can't attach themselves to a predetermined system in order to rise in the ranks like you can with every other profession or practice, they give up and begin a new quest. And then there's the true artists, the ones who say, now that I know, I can finally be me. If art is subjective then the only opinion that matter is my own. Even the opinions of the greatest great great masters who are revered throughout the world... are just opinions and are therefore disposable because the true value of art is integrity.

In a facebook conversation, a friend expressed her interest in traveling, so I said "buy a ticket". The next comment was the worst possible cliche adage ever written, spoken, inscribed, thought, or smoke signaled. Their comment read as follows; "It's like the guy who kept praying, "PLEASE let me win the lottery....PLEASE!!!" God answered him, "You have to buy a ticket."...

Normally, I keep my oppinions to myself, but lately I've loosened my lips some which allowed a word or two to sneak past the flood gates. This is what got through:

Winning the lottery isn't guaranteed. It's almost a joke because the odds are so low. I wouldn't compare the two. If all you want to do is travel however, there's a similar inspirational story you probably never heard where the guy told God "I want to go to Tahiti," but he didn't do it in a prayer. Instead, he did it by buying a ticket. God listens to actions like they're being whispered through a blowhorn. He can't ignore them. God responded to this confident gesture by advising the guy with two simple words "have fun." The moral of the story is that God will never wish anything of you that you won't wish for yourself. And since it is in a beggars nature to beg "PLEASE. PLEASE... give me. let me. show me, I want..." God's response is never to give him $1,000,000 let alone a ticket. The beggar will continue to beg. That being said, God is not afraid to give to you what you give to yourself. God will give you a lottery ticket if you buy a lottery ticket, but God will also make sure you are aware of the odds. He knows that at some point in your life, you have seen and will have remembered the near impossibility of winning because only one in 175 million people win the lottery. God does not play favorites, and because of that he can only provide you the same odds as the other 174,999,999 people who didn't beg, but instead, bought the ticket. If you want to travel, the odds that a ticket to Tahiti will take you to Tahiti are exactly 100%, so long as you follow through and continue to pray with your actions. Let us know when you buy a ticket.

What is it about you that draws me near?

Call me crazy, but I believe in the importance and power of well placed selfishness. To do something for others because it feels good to you is the cornerstone of progress.

How much is your time worth?

Inside, I feel empty. It is because of this connection with emptiness that I dedicate my life to searching. My search is different from that of others however, because my search is an internal one. This I suspect to be immediately untrue though because the mere act of separating oneself from anything, regardless of perceived connection is in itself a flawed act. Consider this; to speak of one thing is to speak of all things, and to speak of an internal is to reference the absolute relevance of an external within a given discourse. Therefore, to search within, one must look outside. The self is in itself neither separate nor singular.

It seems to me that everything of importance, both monumental and mild acts of importance, begin within the fervent sparks of a personal plan; which is to say that every life destined to mean anything at all, must at some point lock itself into an absolute and moreover concise statement of purpose.