Hello, bloggers.

A reader recently asked whether I believe art is a drug.

I believe that anything that stimulates can be considered a drug.  If you’re blasé about art, it’s probably pabulum, but if you’re enthralled or motivated by art, then possibly it could be considered a drug.

The Federal Government would probably need to declare my art a drug for some people!  People would have to wear asbestos suits to view it.

Then the government bureacracy would decide that asbestos suits were too easy...  People would have to apply to wear them, and there would be criteria for whether you wear asbestos suits, swimming suits, burial suits, sleeping suits, yawning suits, crying suits, or “Don’t give a shit” suits.  If you put the wrong one on , please report to the suit policeman!

I believe art can change the world if the viewer can do something about it.

When it comes to “What are we looking for?” I have a theory...  People think that something that happens is going to trigger happiness in their life...

There’s a TV series about people who won the lottery, thought they were on easy street for life, but then really screwed themselves up afterwards.  Maybe they were happy shoveling garbage or selling widgets, and maybe they thought they were suddenly going to be the king or the queen.  You have to ask yourself why.

I believe our perception of happiness is somebody else’s reality.  Our reality of happiness is what goes on between our ears.

I’ve been to many countries that we would consider to be sub-par on an economic level, but the people are happy.  They don’t have limousines and 14 televisions, and the computer systems and other electronic toys that make us happy.  But already in a world that they love and cherish.

We find happiness in ourseves by looking for it within ourselves.  Is it elusive?  Yes.

If we embrace who and what we are, and we know we’re doing the best we can—and if people don’t like it, they can stick it—then we’re probably in paradise already and don’t even know it.

So look for it, and when you get it, guard it, share it, and revel in it.  It’s all we’ve got.

Matt