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Maturity is the long-awaited condition that we hope age and experience will create - unfortunately, not always so.

(C)copyright    Pizzaonian Art Institute, Abe Staction,curator
Image:  Maturity waiting to happen, by Pizzaonious

 

It may be a long way to Tipari, but it is a longer road still to maturity.  Maturity is the long-awaited condition that we hope age and experience will create - unfortunately, not always so. 

In the American experience, maturity is perpetually delayed by entertainment – a process that keeps you from confronting yourself.  The business of having to grow an economy cannot have its potential customers sitting around contemplating life.  Economies require infusions of cash for new products that somehow always seem to resemble the old products they replace- without this infusion they die. 

There is some good in this process.  It brings some innovation and increases the so-called standard of living.  And, if it does none of these things, it always creates the illusion that growing is good and necessary for our well-being. 

The distinction between need and want is the problem that marketers face everyday.  If you are lucky, or smart enough, to have a product that people need, you do not have to work as hard as the rest of us. 

Most of us have to create the illusion that what people want is also what they need.  That is the little kept secret:  Making something no one needs, and making that something that everyone wants is the gateway to success.  We call this successful marketing.  Without it, we would all be in big trouble. 

As time goes by actual products run their course. The natural progression of continually making the same look like the new runs out – there are only so many products.  Thus was born the service industry.  Now we have always had necessary services, but as an industry, we matured.  There are only so many necessary services. The rest we call entertainment.  In the United States we also call it politics.

 

The service industry creates distraction: works of art that only exist for the moment. This makes the artist, Christo, a prophet.  He said, “Do you know that I don’t have any artworks that exist?  They all go away when they’re finished.”  Does anything better define the service industry? 

Now even contemplation is a product.  Create a culture where every waking moment is necessary to survive, and top it off with products that require constant reinventing.  Nice work if you can get it. 

And we wonder why maturity is a delayed process.

 

Brother Giovanni, reporting for Pizzaonian Newsertainment Network, Diverti Mento, director

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Second recorded image of a black hole - Pizzaonian Space and Aeronautical Administration

(C)copyright* - Pizzaonian Art Institute, Abe Straction, curator  - Pizzaonian Space and Aeronautical Administration  PSAA

IMAGE:  THIS PHOTOGRAPH IS BELIEVED TO BE THE SECOND IMAGE OF A BLACK HOLE EVER RECORDED - from the Mozzarella space probe, Pizzaonian Space and Aeronautical Administration

Today the Pizzaonian Seminar for the Advancement of Real Science published what is believed to be the second image of a black hole ever recorded from space.

Professor Gogi Forbrokei released the second  photo today with the statement that the outstanding detail and resolution of the image erases all doubt that this is black hole.  Professor Forbrokei is expected to release more information about the continued, amazing success of the Mozzarella space probe later this week

Reported by Pizzaonian Newsertainment Network, Diverti Mento, director

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 THE FIRST PIZZAONIAN SPACE PROBE PHOTOGRAPH  OF A BLACK HOLE WAS RECORDED  APRIL 2012 - from the Mozzarella space probe, Pizzaonian Space and Aeronautical Administration.      The two photographs, then and now,  are virtually identical

 

The big issues play themselves out. Even the players in the big arena have little effect on outcomes.

(C) copyright
IMAGE: Pizzaonius addressing novitate monks on the need for small acts of kindness. All images from the Pizzaonian Art Institute collection, Abe Staction,curator

 

The most difficult part of the era we live in is to accept the fact that events have a life of their own and will play themselves out with little help from us.  This may sound pessimistic to most, but this has been the way of events since we began our human journey on this mortal coil. 

Human frailty and egos being what they are, we have a need to believe we can make a difference.  If this makes life easier for you - continue to believe it, but always be aware this may well be an illusion. 

If we have no effect on the big issues, what do we affect?  For one, we can make positive changes to ourselves.  Working on ourselves and changing for the better is something most of us take for granted.  We usually presume in our insulated ego existences that someone else causes our problems. This is our folly when we do so. 

The big issues play themselves out.  Even the players in the big arena have little effect on outcomes.  The redeeming feature in our American system is the system itself.  It survives by allowing the powers to be to continue to exist, regardless of their own folly. Eventually, even if by default, this means creating an  economy that allows all to live well.

This is not altruistic.  Spreading the wealth allows the top to survive. When economic and political events become bad enough the process of renewal begins. It is the cycle of our economic, political and spiritual existence. It works repeatedly and has from the beginning. 

What then can you do?  For one, weed your own garden.  Most of the good in this world is the combined small acts of good that create their own karma.  This may not sound like much, but it is all you have. 

So when you despair of the larger events of this world, do some small good around you.  It does not have to be a big deal. Any small act of kindness will do.  Then let go and enjoy the moment.  You might be surprised at the result.

Brother Franco

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Conjectures of a recovering dilettante while traveling the road to Utopia - A planned life - or merely a series of accidents? -

 

Defining your reality - For those still seeking their path

As the years go by you realize so much of your life is shaped by accidental events that require you to react to them, the notion of planning and shaping your life into something meaningful can become a non sequitur. 

Cynical, pehaps, but if this is true, then what is left?  The answer to the question is for a lifetime to reveal.

We hear so much of goals and how important they are to finding success.

Secretly, I sometimes think that much of our stress is grounded in chasing goals for which we have neither the inclination nor the aptitude. Many of us reject our natural aptitudes and the talents we have. We insist on becoming something else. Why? The question has perplexed me for years.

I suspect it starts with the early impressions we are all left with from our childhood.  The desire for acceptance teaches most of us early on that the affirmation we need comes from fulfilling the wishes and needs of the prominent adults in our lives. 

How your changing needs for affirmation affects who and what you are.

As we grow older the need for affirmation transfers to the adult institutions in our lives: our cultural values, our workplace,  our church, our select group of friends - all influenced by the imprint within us that was shaped by the environment of our early years. By this time, the need for survival takes hold and our mental imprints are too grounded to change into what should have been.

Of course, all of this creates the filter by which we judge and view all the feelings and activities we experience in our journey to the end.  This filter shapes our particular prejudices and perspectives, both individually and collectively. Primarily, because it is the subtle, but always present static that plays in the background of our thinking process.

Our need for affirmation numbs us into submission and deludes us with its virtuous resignation.

We grow so use to its presence, we ignore its power over us.  However, we do so at our own peril.

There is a noted exception to this model.  There are a few among us who see correctly and know what they do to survive is essentially meaningless to them other than providing a means to an end.  They do not embellish, or try to justify their activities in “service for society” or other grandiose terms. They do what is necessary because it is necessary.

Simply meeting their responsibilities is a worthy goal unto itself.

A means to an end becomes their justification, and stoic acceptance of this fact creates its own type of begrudging affirmation  - though not completely free, they may be the freest among us. And that is worth a great deal.

Brother Giovanni

We also recommend:

http://pizzaonian.com 

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In every play or life the last act is always the hardest to write.

In every story or play the last act is always the hardest to write.  At least, that’s the way it seems to me.  Why, because nothing happens the way you plan it, not even make believe.

It is amazing how virtually everything has a life of its own.  You have heard the saying:  “You want to make God laugh,tell him your plans.” As we enter the last years of a long life, how true this is.

Trying to write a “last act’ to life is a fun exercise, especially when you realize how serendipitous life really is.  How many times have very important events occurred in your life, simply because you turned left instead of right?

In my life, so many of the most important events were accidents of being in the right place at the right time

However, since nothing is written, let’s see if we can give some shape to the last act.  How do you wrap up a long life?  How do you have the last chapter make any sense?  Maybe you don’t, but it is our nature  to try.

Even though we know that we control nothing (This is the most humbling realization about life that becomes your reality in your last years.) it is our arrogant nature to try – to do any less would not be human.

For one, you have to believe you have a destiny. I have said this many times before.  I know this appears to be presumptuous, but I am convinced this is one of the most important personal beliefs each of us must have.  Please note: I said must have – that is how vital to our well-being this is.

I am often surprised when I see so many of our fellow human beings that don’t consider this at all. Perhaps they are not conceited enough to believe they have a “destiny.” 

So maybe trying to write a “last act to your life” is an act of pure ego, Even so, I am sure going to have some fun trying.  And when it is all said and done: What do I have to lose? After all it is the “last act.”

Till next time,

Brother Giovanni

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"Spirituality" - We hear this word used a lot these days

Image by Mikali - Courtesy of the Pizzaonian Art Institute, Abe Straction, Curator - Reality - Where the ocean kisses the land

 

Today trying to figure out what people mean by the term “spirituality” is difficult

We can no longer assume what a person is when they are described as spiritual. It can mean anything from a belief in their inner self to a self-described sense of personal transcendence – none of these descriptions necessarily mean they believe in a Divinity.

As for me, since I no longer know what the term means, what do I do about it? And, do I really care?

Perhaps I should care since this description carries several implied meanings not the least of which is “integrity.” Does this mean that when I meet a spiritual person that I would be more inclined to trust them automatically? I suspect for me it does.

For me when I hear the word spirituality being used to describe someone, I assume they believe in some sort of transcendence beyond themselves. I also assume that to some degree they are less worldly and inclined to put spiritual matters first. I am aware that I am making assumptions

And that is the point of this short musing.  How many times do I base decisions on pure assumption and little else? Obviously, I do - many times.

Does this mean I should be less trusting and not be inclined to make snap judgements?  Perhaps it should.  But it does come at a cost.  For one I will be more cautious in our relationships.  Is that good?  I will leave the answer to you.

As for me I would rather be trusting.  I don’t want to be considered naïve, but I will take my chances on most people being trustworthy.  Will I get hurt from time to time? Obviously the answer is yes.  Even so, having thought it out, I will take my chances.

Till next time,

Brother  Franco

We also recommend: "The Pizzaonian."

 

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Pizzaonian Art Institute - "the literal image is dead" declares Abe Straction, curator

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FROM:  PIZZAONIAN NEWSERTAINMENT NETWORK (PNN)

Contact:  Publicio Relationio at the PNN office of Public Relations at:  [email protected] 

SUBJECT: THE DEATH OF THE LITERAL IMAGE 

 
Image - delegates at the Pizzaonian Art Institute, Abe Straction, curator

All images are from the private collection of the PIZZAONIAN ART INSTITUTE - Contact Abe Straction, curator, for more information" [email protected]     copyright - (C) all rights are the exclusive property of the Pizzaonian Art Institute and images cannot be reproduced without written permission.

 

Today at the opening of the Pizzaonian Art Institute’s seminar on the state of Pizzaonian art, Abe Straction, newly appointed curator of the Institute declared the death of the literal image as a viable art form. 

It should be clear to all who have followed art for the last 100 years that the literal image has become so ubiquitous, clichéd and mechanical in its rendition it is now insignificant as a form of communication in the digital age.  This is the major theme of this year’s meetings.

“Perhaps, one could argue there is some usefulness in the literal image as a reminder of a past age, but when examined closely even that fades,” declared Mr. Straction 

The focus of discussions here at the seminar is on what happened to the literal image after it was co-opted as a marketing tool to sell and propagandize.  The advance of technology and the notion that everyone is “an artist” was simply one more “nail in the coffin.” 

Obviously, not everyone agrees, however, this controversy will only grow louder as Mr. Straction gains more credibility in the Pizzaonian art establishment.  

Next: How and why photography died.

 

Reporting from Pizzaonia, Brother Giovanni for PNN

We also recommed: "The Pizzaonian"

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Part two “Freedom with attached Obligations" - The wonderful dilemma of growing older -

So you are getting older, big deal. You should be rejoicing that being older is a privilege that not all of us have.  All one needs to do is consider the alternative. That takes care of all your problems in a hurry, at least for the moment.

So you now have a long life, and hopefully a reasonably good mind that can still think clearly. This presents an obligation - one that I’m not sure I always enjoy; however, as I said before, consider the alternative. 

If you are fortunate enough to believe you still have some destiny left in you, you are one of the lucky ones. Believing in a purpose bigger than you is probably one of the keys to good health in old age. Recent studies of consciousness as a force are beginning to suggest that how we think and perceive our purpose in life is pretty much how the brain is going to direct its energy - including working to keep your immune system at peak performance.  

So how are you doing? If you still feel there is a purpose to the so-called “golden years” what are you going to do about it? Keep in mind; I am not talking about what makes you comfortable – like loving and caring for grandchildren – or becoming a better golfer or gardener. That is too easy, and besides, we do that naturally, if not always well.   

The problem with the type of obligations I am talking about is that they usually ask something of us.  In this case, we are asking ourselves to serve some greater purpose. This means work and doing things that interfere with our comfort zone. It also means expanding our current level of consciousness that might force us to give up some treasured beliefs.  This is the hardest thing of all – having to change your mind – this is a subject unto itself.

How often are older people reminded of the fact that they are mentally inflexible? Is this really true or is this a club that younger folks use against their elders? They may not do it intentionally, but it is sure convenient for them to do so. If we are constantly wrong, and they are invariably right it leaves us with little credibility. I find this particularly annoying when a younger person that I am clearly smarter than dismisses me because of my age. This leads me to the subject of credibility.   

Credibility – this is a key, since maintaining credibility is the only way we get anyone to listen to us. We all earned a living by being an expert at something. This is what goes first when you no longer hold a regular paying job. You cease being an expert, at least in the current sense. You might still have some believability with the history of your work experience, but forget that anyone considers that you have enough current knowledge to have some plausibility. 

So what is the key?  The answer is the same as it always has been. Retirement pay doesn’t count.  That was the past.  How much money are you paid for what you currently do? Your answer determines your believability and trustworthiness.  Unfortunate – as this may be it is still as true today as it was in your heyday.  So what do you do about it? 

Easy – become an expert. It is amazing how defining a solution is so much easier than bringing it into being. You have two choices. One is to reestablish your standing in the field you one had some standing, or begin something new. Be careful here – starting over is no easy task. It helps if you have some relationship with your new endeavor with what you did before. 

So good luck on your continued journey and never forget the wonderful dilemma of growing older - “ “freedom with attached obligations”.

 

Brother Giovanni

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Conjectures of a recovering dilettante - How do you define your life's work?

How do you grow older without the one thing that is necessary for the mind to sustain itself? For some, it is love and that one person that makes life worth the process. For others, it is their work.

Work can be defined in many ways, but for this discussion, work is about a life time goal. It is accomplishing what you were meant to do. It is the substance that allows your life to flourish and mature, making everything worth the effort.   

For some, it is business. For others, it is art. But, regardless of what it is – it consumes you and must be done. Is it a compulsion? For many, it is, however, they would not see it that way. For them, it is meaning. It is what life is meant to be.

It is their purpose for being and defines everything they experience. 

One has to ask: If this is that important to them can they share their lives with anyone since their work is all consuming. There was a time when I would have said yes. However, I am no longer sure.

If your work is about meeting your personal responsibilities, and those responsibilities include loved ones who depend on you for their support, then your life is about relationships.

Thank God, this is where most people find themselves. Because of them, life and communities are allowed to continue and sustain themselves.

But what about other types of endeavors that are defined as a life’s work? This type of activity by its very nature and intent replaces family and friends. It becomes, in and of itself, what gives meaning to life.   

Entrepreneurs and artists often find themselves in this position - what they need to accomplish becomes more important than any other thing they encounter in life, including successful personal relationships. 

How do you know where you fit within this definition of work and life? How do you know where you belong? Perhaps the answer is to be found only in your actions.

By this, I mean your work or art takes precedence over everything else in your life. If this is so, you are more than likely this type of person. 

So what if you find yourself conflicted over this? Some would say the very conflict means your work may be a means to an end and not necessarily a life’s cause for being. It is also possible that you could have both positions happening to your life at different times in your journey through this mortal coil.   

Obsession and compulsion are almost always present when you believe you have a purpose to fulfill. This is one sign. For this person, they continue when no one else would. Success eludes them, and they work through disappointment and failure.

They never give up. At the core of their belief is what they are doing is meant to be and defines them.   

So to those who find themselves in this position – embrace it, never run from it, and let no persuade you to abandon what defines your life. Beware of those who do.

Nothing is more detrimental to the artist than being in an environment that ignores and is indifferent to your life’s purpose. This is one obstacle no one needs.

Brother Giovanni

We also recommend: "The Pizzaonian"

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".. Those who do read history are bound to stand by helplessly and watch those who don’t read history repeat it." 100 word reflections

 

 Thought for the day:

The more you pay attention to what’s happening in the world; you begin to realize the same things keep repeating themselves many times over. The faces and names may change, but the events remain amazingly similar. 

This makes even more prophetic the person who said. “Those who don’t read history are bound to repeat it – and those who do read history are bound to stand by helplessly and watch those who don’t read history repeat it."

Vera V. Veronica for "The Pizzaonian" http:pizzaonian.com  

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