The Direction of Intention

35.

Join me in inspiring truly powerful people. Each day I will add a new thought, story or idea to support your quest and mine.

Ask Doug if art is necessary.

Once upon a time he was a young a soldier on his way to Vietnam. He was going to fight in a war before he could legally drink a beer. He was in an airport returning from a leave home between boot camp and his tour and for reasons he still does not understand, he went into the airport bookstore and bought a paperback book of poetry: The World’s 100 Greatest Poets.

Doug was not a reader. He was an angry young man who valued bar fights and chasing girls (he managed to find ways to drink despite his tender age…). He was drafted and going to war. And suddenly, unexpectedly, he was stuffing a book of namby-pamby poetry into his duffle bag.

Each day for a year in Vietnam his job was to walk point. He was the guy that was the easy target; he was bait. If he was killed the rest of his platoon had the opportunity to take cover. Each night, he’d take out his book of poetry and read poems. At first, the guys teased him. He read poems because his mates gave him grief. Soon, they were asking him to read poems – to help take their minds off of their fear and grief. Toward the end of his tour the guys in his platoon were making requests for their favorite poems and he was able to recite many from memory. He understood them; they were in his body, that place of meaning beyond words.

In a single year Doug was introduced to the full spectrum of what people are capable of doing: the greatest horror and the highest art. For a while he was pulled between the two poles: the horror and self- annihilation in a tug-of-war with love and compassion. He could have tipped either way.

Ask Doug if art is necessary. Ask Doug what is point of music or dance or poetry or painting. Ask Doug which pole has more power.

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