I was thinking today about how so many major health issues are caused by “blockages.”
The most obvious example is a heart attack, usually caused by “blocked arteries.” And of course there are strokes, which are blocked arteries in the brain… and any time you get a blood clot blocking an artery anywhere else, or just poor circulation generally, this is a major problem.
In the realm of spiritual/mental health, we often talk of blockages in terms of “denial.” When our system gets a shock, it is common to “block” the pain, either with drugs or psychoses, and so of course, it just sits there and festers. Brene Brown, in her famous Ted talk, talked about how we as a society are “numbed up.” Numbness, after all, is a blockage of sensation.
There are, of course, many wonderful, if pricey, therapies and procedures that can get people “unblocked.” However, I think it’s safe to say that when human beings are “in flow,” this ounce of prevention is just generally better in terms of overall physical and mental health. And this is where “the arts” play an often unappreciated role.
In my generally lighthearted reminiscences of my playing classical music as a youngster, I seldom mention this darker aspect of it: In my early days of engaging in truly hard-core practicing, I was a somewhat psychologically traumatized and numbed-up kid from a farm. The popular culture had relentlessly taught me that “masculinity” was all about blocking any expression of emotional energy. So, a major element of my overall practice strategy involved my forcing myself to “un-block” my emotional energies. This was the only way that I could play the notes in a manner that would truly resonate with both fellow musicians and the audience.
This cannot be done at a safe distance; one must “dig in” to one’s vulnerable self, and fix the blocked arteries of emotion. Unearthing these buried and frozen parts of myself was one of the greatest benefits of the whole exercise. (And more recently, my ongoing study of the “art” of social dancing constantly forces me to face and unblock all kinds of buried fears and past trauma.)
“STEM” skills (i.e., science, tech, engineering, math) do not force one to do this kind of thing. Only artistic goals do this.
I often encounter people who have clearly never had this art-based opportunity for personal growth. They spend their whole lives in a frozen state, which has numerous labels: unable to trust, disconnected, unaware of their true selves, afraid to touch or be touched, constantly angry, constantly medicated.
In our industrial culture, emotion is the enemy. It is seen as waste. It gums up the works. Therefore spending time and money on encouraging something that is an impediment to the efficient running of society seems like something that should be stopped. But when we remove our financial support of these “shamed-as-frilly-and-sissy” activities, this is not evidence of responsible money management; it is evidence of the shame we feel about the real truth of our imperfect selves. It is one more instance of blocking our emotions.
We live in a society that does not place a very high priority on individual health and happiness. We have “blocked” (i.e., denied) this conflict for a long time, and, like any other blockage, it eventually gets to a point where it takes over; the money we are spending on fixing all the downstream diseases caused by our many upstream emotional blockages is about to bankrupt us.
When we talk about the “possibilities of art,” it’s important for us folks who claim to be the “artists” to have a greater awareness, both of the broader purpose of our work (beyond mere entertainment, status symbolism, etc.), and the broader needs of our audience.
© Justin Locke
