We climbed up the foothills of the Tian Shan Mountains in Ala Archa State Park yesterday. It was humbling and a beautiful reminder of my place in the world. Yes, in a hippy-dippy, spiritual, one with nature kind of a way, but more so in a you can't help but be a part of the world kind of way.
You are here. You are alive.
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| Visitors tie mementos to the trees to make wishes |
The other day at an American Corner event, a young girl said to me, "Thank you for coming and shaking up our lives," and I said, "Really?"
Modern dance shaking lives up? She explained that it was the fact that we were people who were clearly passionate and enjoyed doing what we did, and that, most importantly, we were doing it. The questions at that meeting weren't about being famous, or MTV, or Step Up 2 (which I was in), they were asking us "How do I live my life in a way that will make me happy?, how do you define success, how do I do what I love?" etc.
The idea of doing what you want, saying what you have to say in the way that you want, or, as Sean would say, "Speaking an old language in a new way with a contemporary accent," is something that as an American I completely take for granted. Or I used to, anyway.
Each day I am more and more grateful that I can do exactly what I want and have the opportunity and inclination to live my life as an artist. For me there is no other way, but now the blinders have come off. Nothing exists in a vacuum, it's simple physics. You cannot create something from nothing, a life of creation cannot help but alter the world, and we cannot help being changed by the world around us in the process. For this I am humbled and extremely grateful.
---Shane
