{"id":2512,"date":"2012-03-22T08:39:45","date_gmt":"2012-03-22T15:39:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/?p=2512"},"modified":"2012-03-22T08:39:45","modified_gmt":"2012-03-22T15:39:45","slug":"life-the-great-experiment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/2012\/03\/22\/life-the-great-experiment\/","title":{"rendered":"Life: The Great Experiment"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a><\/h6>\n
Antigua Street<\/em> (detail), an experimental painting after the style of experimenter Paul Gauguin. (For full and larger view, click and click again.)\u00a0<\/a><\/h6>\n

I wanted to see what was worthwhile for men to do under heaven during the few days of their lives.*<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now there is a responsible approach to life. Consider it as one grand experiment.<\/p>\n

Not everybody can, or will, but if\u00a0we have a modicum of wherewithal, live in a free culture, trust that we have some years still ahead, and any curiosity about how it would be if . . . . Then we can experiment. And should.<\/p>\n

We only live once. Much of it is proscribed. But there’s a great deal that’s just up to us. It seems only right that we take\u00a0at least a few calculated risks that might eventuate into something that would never otherwise happen, or be learned. And maybe daily.<\/p>\n

I read a book once on the creative process suggesting we can create, and even name, an \u201calter ego\u201d for ourselves. That “other person” then has the permission and expectation to try things our own person might never consider. Sounds wild. I toyed with it. I kept my last name but took on the new first name of “Risk<\/em>.”<\/p>\n

\u201cRisk Moore<\/em>.\u201d It became a reminder that taking risks is part of what I’m supposed to be doing, at least sometimes.<\/p>\n

Risk, in some areas, is another word for faith.<\/p>\n

The painter Paul Gauguin took a lot of risks. Actually many were irresponsible and in the end he died singularly unsuccessful and miserable. But artistically he experimented in ways that opened a whole new way of making art. If he hadn’t done it, we wouldn’t have it. He himself didn’t know what was in him until he began to experiment.<\/p>\n

I’ve let some of what he learned–about strong color and simplified shapes, not to mention the intrigue of peoples in another culture–influence me. I just made a painting along those lines. It’s here, from a photo I took on the streets of Antigua, Guatemala some years back. It was fun to do, and further stretched my horizons.<\/p>\n

So, I say, experiment. Go beyond current experience.<\/p>\n

Keep your moral boundaries intact, of course, lest the results of your experiments suck you under.<\/p>\n

But under God there’s a wide world yet to be explored, a universe actually, starting within our own minds.<\/p>\n

It requires a bit of courage, a bit of faith, a bit of imagination. Who knows what will come of it?<\/p>\n

Except that much more life.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

_______________________<\/p>\n

*Ecc. 2:3b<\/p>\n

For more on this, see “Try Things–You Never Know” (listed at right).<\/p>\n

Feel free to share with a friend.<\/p>\n

Next time:\u00a0Here’s a Gift: Work.<\/em>\u00a0Coming Sunday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here’s a responsible approach to life: Consider it as one grand experiment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2512"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2512"}],"version-history":[{"count":32,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2512\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2763,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2512\/revisions\/2763"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2512"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2512"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2512"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}