Dreams and Gross National Happiness
October 11th, 2010 by Lydia
I went missing for the past few weeks because I was busy creating my other not so secret dream life as a visual artist and have taken up dancing, neither of which I really have much experience in.
On a total fluke I got into an art exhibit. I thought at first that I could make an installation, but it turned out the exhibit only takes paintings, so I made a painting. And it turns out that my very first painting was exhibited at a reputable museum. Yay, scary, and took it with a grain of salt.
Luckily enough I was mentored by my painter friend who was also in the exhibit. She’s a brilliant visual artist who paints, does sculpture and installation, not to mention she’s seriously a genius. My process, however, drove her nuts, to the point where she couldn’t watch me paint. I’m a snail of a painter because I’m too OCD as she put it. I got caught up in the minute details and lost perspective of the entire picture. Improvise, she said.
There was a lot at stake. The museum put a lot of effort into the advertising and here I am, a first time painter. I was obsessed with how I mixed my colors and asked my friend to look at my painting as I completed each new section. I drove her nuts.
Maybe I turned my dream into an obsession of minute perfection that in the end didn’t matter. It turns out that I get a lot of joy from painting, but I felt like I also crossed an obsessive line that my Dreamer doesn’t need to cross.
Gross National Happiness
What if the weight is put on fulfillment instead of perfection? What if the measure of success is happiness?
In the country of Bhutan, rather than a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) they have instead Gross National Happiness (GNH). Originated by the previous king, GNH is one of the main responsibilities of the current monarch, King Khesar. Social, economic, and political changes and policy all must fulfill GNH. An index was even created as an indicator for the adoption or rejection of policies.
GNH governs the following domains of Bhutanese society: psychological well-being, time use, community vitality, culture, health, education, environmental diversity, living standard, and governance. Most importantly the indicators assist with decision making that uphold the values of the culture and the people. Certain indicators gauge the rates of negative and positive emotions, from anger to compassion.
Radical, isn’t it? What if you were to apply GNH to your own sovereignty and time usage? How would your life change once you applied it? How would GNH change how you approach and pursue what you are most passionate about?
My insecurity with painting did not have the same type of happiness measure. I was so concerned with technique and measuring up to the other artists in the exhibit that I didn’t trust my intuition or my natural ability. My energy was tentative rather than uninhibited. Don’t get me wrong, technique is important, but so is one’s being during the creation process.
As a painter I measure my Gross National Happiness with the following realizations. I found out that I love painting and have some natural talent for it. In fact, my life was absolutely blissful the entire week I painted. I’d wake up in early in the morning, meditate, paint all day, and then go to dance class in the evening. I found mixing all my colors and applying them to the canvas extremely meditative. During the process and at the end of the day, I was absolutely fulfilled and joyful.
My being was calm, happy, and inspired. My dreams of being an artist were being fulfilled.
What of your dreams? Where would they score on your Gross National Happy meter if you lived them or gave them a try?
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sounds amazing. can we see the painting??
and Lydia, thanks for keeping a watchful eye on the Hyphen blog.
Twitter: KabuuanKoaching
says:
Hi Erin,
I’m a little shy because it was my first painting and the theme of the exhibit wasn’t all too stimulating – interpretations of John Lennon’s “Watching the Wheels” in commemoration of his birthday. I’ll send a pic to you via email.
I’m so glad to see Ask A Model Minority Suicide: Hello getting attention. I’ll be blogging about it very soon too.