A good friend of mine from college happened to be in town for a marriage (typical travel reason these days) and managed to find time for us to spend the afternoon together. Last year, she had tossed aside the safety and boredom of her job to pursue the drama and dedication of film. This did not simply mean explaining to loved ones why she was leaving the security of a paycheck during an economic recession but also taking out loans to get a new undergraduate degree in film, as her BA in philosophy and history of science was no basis for admission into a film school.
Since I last saw her, she has been taking classes and controlling more of her time for her pursuit.
This time her husband joined us, after he had been to visit one of the premiere music schools in the city. He had decided to leave the even greater security of bookkeeping and accounting for a profession in classical music performance. Now they count their pennies (which he does very well admittedly) and time all the more carefully.
As they dedicate their hours to practice and learning, they find less time for the casual conversation, the doldrums of daily drink dates, and the many ways other ways that time can slip away. They require a higher caliber of conversation, more challenging suggestions to engage them away from the passions they now pursue.
And that is as it should be. When impassioned, only the best will do. There is nothing wrong with a life lived casually but it makes no sense to someone who is full of vigor for their new endeavor. Full of excitement, life has it all and that energy must be protected from those who are willing to slip a bit here and bit there, check out this, look at that, and go on to the next without a spark. True friends stand out during this time, not only because they are patient with the outbursts of enthusiasm for the new found passion but also because their own passions are revealed in response to their friend's outburst.
Passion for the arts is required because it pays little and the reward is largely personal. Without passion it can not survive–this has been said and will be said again for that simple reason. Passion can not be sustained by intercourse with apathy, and one's social life will change in the face of that shift. Friends are necessary to refuel the curiosity that cares to spend hours alone in trenchant trials of perfecting a very personal vision.
I wish any of us who care passionately about what we do to have friends who care equally, who sustain our excitement with their own, who learn and share their learning in exuberant monologues of inquiry, who enjoy and applaud the incredible risks taken to satisfy the life worth living.
No comments:
Post a Comment