It is curious to note that there are age groups in which the accumulation of experience very often leads to similar decisive movements. Adulthood is preceded by a decision that corroborates or definitively breaks with the aspirations of adolescence; middle age reinforces this decision or, in cases where it has been postponed, violently oppresses due to the cowardice of postponement; old age arrives with the unique possibility of synthesis or, at the very least, with the last possibility of affirmation along untrodden paths. And it is repeatedly noted that these frameworks, supported by similar classes of experience, produce results that are also similar in content, although individualized depending on the routes taken. The age factor is therefore fundamental and extremely instructive in analyzing man.
Every Profession Requires Something Beyond…
From a certain point on, every profession requires something beyond mere convenience in order to be carried out properly. This is usually the case when novelty disappears from the routine, which becomes the execution of tasks already carried out the day before. Then, if there is no motivator beyond what one gets out of doing them, if one does not derive some satisfaction from the daily exercise itself, the job becomes unbearable, the exercise becomes tedious, distressing, torturous. So it seems that the dissatisfied person has to choose between two things: abandon it or succumb to it. Therefore, it is not possible to give other advice than that a profession should be chosen above all with a view to the satisfaction that can be derived from it: in the end, everything else that can be obtained from it will be linked to the existence of this possibility, or not.
The Beginning
It seems that the outcome of any artistic project is fundamentally dependent on the enthusiasm and vigor with which it is started. The spirit with which this start is imbued is decisive. For a bad or weak start, there is not much to be done, while a vigorous start can be extended by manual labor and simple discipline. That is why it is so important to do the ideation separately, at a time that precedes the execution. In this way, one can take advantage of the unsurpassable stimulus of those moments when the idea is ready and seems to explode.
When Faced With What He Does Not Know
The better he who, when faced with what he does not know, keeps quiet instead of doubting. And if he does not feel confident in his perception, and if he is really interested in the object of his current ignorance, let him study, listen and, above all, want to know. And let him stay that way for as long as it takes, studying, listening and wanting. One day, perhaps, he will know; and he will value the knowledge he has acquired. If, however, he does not get to know, at least he will have maintained a posture that he can never be ashamed of.