Community

I recently read a great book by the master music producer, Rick Rubin. If you’re not familiar with his resume, he founded Def Jam records in the early 80’s, and produced many of the early hip hop releases, the Johnny Cash American Recordings in the 90’s and is responsible for so many great albums they would be hard to list. I would listen to anything he produced, no matter the genre. The only other person I can say that about is T-Bone Burnett.

Anyway…

the book is titled “The Creative Act” and I highly recommend it to anyone whether you’re in the creative field or not. Rubin himself said, "I set out to write a book about what to do to make a great work of art. Instead, it revealed itself to be a book on how to be.” I would agree with him wholeheartedly. It’s one of those books that reminds you of what you already know deep down, but have buried so deep beneath the tiresome bulk of everyday life, it is forgotten.

One of the passages that stood out was about the Buddhist concept of Sangha, which along with the Buddha and Dharma are considered the Three Jewels of Buddhism. Sangha is the gathering of those searching for enlightenment. Specifically, Rubin writes about the importance of surrounding yourself with other artistic people. The benefits are many - new ideas, enthusiasm, criticism, etc. As Rubin says, “Creativity is contagious.” It brought to mind a phrase that resonated with me in 1979 and remains with me to this day. The last line on my college diploma reads, “…extends the recipient welcome into the community of artists.”

Of course, this certainly does apply to everyday life, and often. We all belong to a multitude of tribes, I reckon. Our co-workers, church groups, clubs, civic organizations and such. But also our friends and neighbors. And haven’t all of us met someone along the way who simply “gets us” and with whom we have an unspoken bond?

It would serve us well to remember our communities and gather as many around us as possible. One of the many, and to me the most disconcerting and tragic remnants of the pandemic is the weakening of our “Sanghas”, be it through remote working, telehealth calls and such. My Sangha is providing me with immeasurable support at the moment. My creative - and everyday - life is all the stronger for it. I give thanks for it every day.

One of my son’s Sanghas is his Brazilian Jiu Jitsu academy. Two to three times a week he joins his fellow grapplers in learning new moves and working out. I’ve recently taken to joining him to observe and get out for a bit. It has been a wonderful figure drawing session for me, with 30 or so (energetic) models twisting and turning. I then use the drawings as reference for later paintings.