Viva la vida

"Both 'happiness' and 'inspirations' are the words of amateurs." -- Diego Rivera

I borrowed "Diego Rivera: I Paint What I See" from the library last week. I watched it late before I went to bed on Wednesday.

I was saddened by this assertation about happiness. It isn't the first time I've heard that, I've actually heard this a lot, sometimes even from people I admire. "If you're happy you aren't paying attention." Which just renews this thought: yes, happiness is indeed the thesis of our lives, you and me. We need to figure out how to get the message out. I think it goes like this:

- Childhood/first: natural wonder resides in the mind. Excitement for discovery, openness and delight burn with a raw intensity.

- Sometime after: bad stuff happens and you feel betrayed. Equally pure feelings of cynicisim and doubt set in.

From there it's up to you to find the wonder and openness again. It is not regressing to a childish state of denial and naïveté, it's what happens when you overcome sophomoric angst and the self-loathing aspects of a certain kind of disappointment. When you stop pouting and rejoin the play. When you recognize that there are good things in the world if only you can just see them.

This is not to say there aren't good and bad moments within that spectrum, but the thing about this sort-of enlightenment is that you return to it after the emotional twinge into a different place. I think you could argue the initial 'bad stuff' episode is merely an intense version of this, intense because it is the First.

OTHER THINGS ABOUT DIEGO

1. I was happy at his insatiable painting, his claim that it was his biological obligation to paint.

2. Many of the smallish things from the movie Frida were true, including, verbatim, the moment they met. We have diary accounts.

"I have something important I want to discuss with you."

3. I want to do an American tour -- North, Central and South -- of his murals. It seems like many of them were on big time public buildings, and while we are a bit foolish here, it seems that at least in Central and South America these would remain. It would be amazing to see as many as one could I think. Important for us to do, as American thinkers/artists, since he was very politically involved and would often refuse big commissions if he was asked to compromise his vision. Yes indeed.

4. It was from Frida's watermelons: viva la vida.