著名的歌手、創作者兼哲學家Joe Cocker於最近逝世。他成名的原因是其舞台魅力，當他發揮天賦時，是入迷又同時迷人的。Ken Robinson博士如此描述天賦：「天賦就是天生長才與個人熱忱的交界點。當人們得到天賦，會感覺到最真實的自我，受到強烈啟發並達到最高成就。」1 Joe的音樂會觸動你，因其如此自負自溺，卻又自由，非常有原創性。所有偉大的藝術都是自發的，或來自偶然，或有來自厭世。
在這個知識與資訊爆炸的高科技時代，倘若藝術成為「數字之畫」會如何？馬蒂斯的《藍色的裸體》（Blue Nude）將只是112個筆觸？如果藝術交易失去了其自由與率性，而我們朝向市場崇尚的─譬如Damien Hirst的藝術，世上還會有更多的托爾斯泰或約翰藍儂嗎？答案顯然是否定的。
一世代樂團（One Direction）便是流行風潮下一個成功的例子。五位俊俏又有才華的年輕人收到製作人青睞，進而組成團體，「在2010年於英國歌唱節目The X Factor第七季中獲得第三名後便廣受社會媒體的愛戴，其四張專輯Up All Night (2011)、Take Me Home(2012)、Midnight Memories(2013)與Four(2014)接打破紀錄，空降流行排行榜冠軍，另外也有四首熱銷單曲。2014年富比士排名中，他們是30歲以下年收入第二高的名人，自2013年六月至2014年六月收入有七千五百萬美元。」這裡的關鍵字「社會媒體」，無須再多做說明了吧？我問自己是否太過極端了，但又不這麼認為。畢竟教育工作者也呼籲我們該放下手機過生活了。
Age of Distraction: Why It’s Crucial for students to Learn to Focus一文完整探討了Daniel Goleman2博士的文字，「該正視的問題在於我們的注意力受到人類史上前所未有的圍困，我們周遭充滿令人分心的事物，所以得更專注於培養注意力…這個能力比智商或你所成長家庭的社會經濟地位都來得重要。缺發專注力對於無法放下手上各種裝置的美國學生來說可能是個問題。」應該說這現象已普遍存在第一世界青年的生活中（台灣當然也不例外）。正面看待的話，雖然年輕人易受網路上的垃圾資訊所吸引，但終有一天他們會拋開資本主義的枷鎖與史心智駑鈍的產物，進而開創成功的人生─我是如此相信的。引述德蕾莎修女的話：「昨天走了。明天還沒來。我們只擁有今天。來，動手吧。」
本週散心時也想想你生活中的美好，還有該如何徜徉其中吧。
每天試著尋找生活中神奇、美麗的事物。
The iconic singer, songwriter and philosopher, Joe Cocker, died recently. What makes him memorable was certainly his “stage presence.” When he was in his element, he was entranced and entrancing, at the same time. Dr. Ken Robinson describes the element as thus: “The Element is the point at which natural talent meets personal passion. When people arrive at the Element, they feel most themselves, most inspired and achieve at their highest levels.” 1 You were moved and consumed by Joe’s music: narcissistic, self-indulgent and yet freeing. — An original! All great art has sprung from the spontaneous, the odd, the misanthropic.
In our age of great knowledge, data control and computerization, what if art, however, becomes nothing but “paint by numbers” — Matisse’s Blue Nude in 112 brush strokes? What if our art bourse is so sophisticated that we lose the unconstrained and impetuous, we go after what the market wants a la Damien Hirst? Will there be more Tolstoys or John Lennons? I think the answer could be simply given: no.
The band One Direction is a highly successful example of this alarming trend. These five good-looking and talented young men were chosen by record producer Simon Cowell and built into a band “after forming and finishing third in the seventh series of the British television singing competition, The X Factor in 2010, they were propelled to international success by social media. One Direction’s four albums, Up All Night (2011), Take Me Home (2012), Midnight Memories (2013) and Four (2014) broke records, topped charts in most major markets, and generated hit singles including ‘What Makes You Beautiful,’ ‘Live While We’re Young,’ ‘Story of My Life’ and ‘Steal My Girl.’ In 2014, Forbes listed them as the second-highest earning celebrities under the age of 30, with the group earning an estimated $75 million from June 2013 to June 2014.” You will remark on the term “social media”: need I say more? I ask myself if I am being extreme. I think not. Educators are telling us to put down the cell phone.
The article Age of Distraction: Why It’s Crucial for students to Learn to Focus thoughtfully discusses the words of Dr. Daniel Goleman,2 “The real message is because attention is under siege more than it has ever been in human history, we have more distractions than ever before, we have to be more focused on cultivating the skills of attention … This ability is more important than IQ or the socio-economic status of the family you grew up in … That could be a problem for students in the U.S. who often seem addicted to their devices, unable to put them down even for a even a few moments.” This should be enlarged to all first world young people (Taiwan take note)
On the positive side, though young people are inundated with Internet garbage and distractions, I believe that most will lead successful lives, once they throw of the shackles of our consumptive and mind-numbing economic model: which they will. To quote the virtual saint, Mother Teresa (1910-1997): Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.
This week on your hopeful walk, please ponder the beauty of your life and where you plan to travel in it.
Every day look for something magical and beautiful.
Footnote:
1) The Element: ISBN 978-0-670-02047-8
2) Daniel Goleman, “Focus: the Hidden Driver of Excellence, ISBN 978- 0- 062-34443-4”. YouTube/Talks at Google