Temp Status
As an artist, I have held many temp jobs. I currently have a 9-5 temp job working at the staffing firm which sends me on assignments. This works well for me because it gives me a steady income between gigs and allows me to also build a new support group made up of people who are not artists and may not know that world as well as others pursuing a life in the arts. I was asked by a co-worker if I wanted to be permanent at the firm and I laughed and said, "No, I don't want to give up acting!" She laughed, shook her head and asked, "You don't want to give up eating do you?" It made me think for a second, and then for a minute and this has been on my mind for now weeks and prompted me to write this post.
Everything is temporary. Life itself is like my 9-5, temporary, therefore everything in one's life is temporary. One could say that death is permanent and at that thought I almost felt defeated. Then I thought of when someone dies, their spirit lives on making death temporary. They live on through their contributions to our lives be it jokes, songs, spectacular plays, sights, sounds, smells, touches and any other beauty of life that can be remembered or revisited whenever we miss that person. The physical abilities of someone can be taken away with aging and death but even the physical state is temporary. When they throw you in that box and bury you, if someone digs you up years later, you don't look the way you did when you were first buried. Let's move on from the morbid side of this post!
My point is this: this time of year renders many people sad or depressed because of the loss of a loved one, financial stress, or the overwhelming effect of the commercialism of Christmas. Others may be down and out because they aren't happy with their job or their life. Remember, it is all temporary! Artists experience these feelings often in their lives. There are many times during the year when we go from job to job or gig to gig. It's part of the life of an artist, each project leading to the next. When I book a show, I know that it rehearses for a certain amount of time, we're teching for a certain amount of time and then the show runs until it closes. This series of events continues as long as I need to be an actor and/or pursue a life as an artist. Knowing this, I never get too down on myself when between shows. I know that it is just temporary. I know that I am auditioning and getting called back and booking another gig just by walking this path. The length of time from gig to gig allows me to experience life and learn so that I can be ready for the next gig.
Life educates us just the same. Each event prepares you for the next event that is to come your way. The emotions evoked from each event can cause one to feel or think that those events are lasting forever but that's not the case. If someone punches you in the face and you bleed. The effects of the punch are pain, shock, amazement, anger, etc. making it seem like you're still getting punched in the face when the event of the punch has passed. People have a hard time staying in the present moment making it easy for them to get knocked down or out by the next punch. The here and now is what matters. The past can help inform the present, but it's what you do now that will create your future.
Hang in there and remember to roll with the punches... they're temporary.
Everything is temporary. Life itself is like my 9-5, temporary, therefore everything in one's life is temporary. One could say that death is permanent and at that thought I almost felt defeated. Then I thought of when someone dies, their spirit lives on making death temporary. They live on through their contributions to our lives be it jokes, songs, spectacular plays, sights, sounds, smells, touches and any other beauty of life that can be remembered or revisited whenever we miss that person. The physical abilities of someone can be taken away with aging and death but even the physical state is temporary. When they throw you in that box and bury you, if someone digs you up years later, you don't look the way you did when you were first buried. Let's move on from the morbid side of this post!
My point is this: this time of year renders many people sad or depressed because of the loss of a loved one, financial stress, or the overwhelming effect of the commercialism of Christmas. Others may be down and out because they aren't happy with their job or their life. Remember, it is all temporary! Artists experience these feelings often in their lives. There are many times during the year when we go from job to job or gig to gig. It's part of the life of an artist, each project leading to the next. When I book a show, I know that it rehearses for a certain amount of time, we're teching for a certain amount of time and then the show runs until it closes. This series of events continues as long as I need to be an actor and/or pursue a life as an artist. Knowing this, I never get too down on myself when between shows. I know that it is just temporary. I know that I am auditioning and getting called back and booking another gig just by walking this path. The length of time from gig to gig allows me to experience life and learn so that I can be ready for the next gig.
Life educates us just the same. Each event prepares you for the next event that is to come your way. The emotions evoked from each event can cause one to feel or think that those events are lasting forever but that's not the case. If someone punches you in the face and you bleed. The effects of the punch are pain, shock, amazement, anger, etc. making it seem like you're still getting punched in the face when the event of the punch has passed. People have a hard time staying in the present moment making it easy for them to get knocked down or out by the next punch. The here and now is what matters. The past can help inform the present, but it's what you do now that will create your future.
Hang in there and remember to roll with the punches... they're temporary.
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