The Secret of Small Things
AFTER I ARRIVED IN TENERIFE LAST WEEK, I bumped into someone who I’d met briefly a couple of times before in the past and who knew I had just been in Stockholm for some time making a new CD album. The first thing she said to me was this: “So… did you make lots of money then?” She wasn’t the first person to make that kind of statement. (It’s what I call “an old aeon blurt”; and you’ll see why below). This little piece here is my “official” reply to her.
If one measures success in art with making loads of quick money, then one has been completely brainwashed by a corrupt culture which is alien to real living. In fact, I did “make” loads of money already, in the sense that I was miraculously sponsored to make an album costing very many tens of thousands of euros to record and release. But that is not considered by mostpeople to be “making money”. They want to see my flashy car (with inevitable gold-digger in the passenger seat! 
🙂 ) and my luxury mansion in the country! Happiness and fulfilment are measured today by the level of “celebrity” one has achieved and the amount of cash flowing into one’s bank account(s). This is what people seem to mean by “making it” as an artist in the world of entertainment. One sees all these wannabes on “talent” shows on TV, imitating other people’s songs with a dream of being rich and famous. There is something very sad about it. Even such “progressive” groups as Pink Floyd and the Moody Blues, among others, said they’d set out to be rich and famous in the early 1970s. Such an attitude is a stain on the face of true artistry and a betrayal of the Muse.
The corrupt music scene today is a fix, no matter where in the world one goes. Certain compliant acts, who the agents, managers, “talent” shows and publicists think will be money-spinners through being marketed to an undiscerning public, are chosen to “make it”. None of it has anything to do with talent or creativity. It is about greed and the willingness of the artist to sell his or her soul. (Bear in mind also that mostpeople have never heard real music from the heart but have only been subjected to manufactured money-music). And everywhere, of course, the mass of people slavishly kowtow to celebrity. As an example of this, I have often had the following dialogue with people I meet:
A.N. OTHER: So what do you do then?
ME: I write songs and poetry and other stuff and sometimes perform it.
A.N. OTHER: Oh yeah, you look like an old rocker. Should I know you? Are you famous?
ME: Hahaha! I hope not. Fame and celebrity are the kiss of death for any artist.
A.N. OTHER [says nothing but looks at me in utter astonishment as if I was completely insane]
Celebrity and great wealth are two of the gods of this present evil age. They are regarded as the touchstone of success by mostpeople in the world. Yet, I believe that the opposite is true — that celebrity and great wealth are the harbingers of ruin and disgrace, as the media shows daily. Added to this, because mostpeople are only interested in “glamour” or what can be seen with their eyes (wrongly believing that is all that exists), they completely overlook a secret which lies at the heart of all genuine “success”, as well as failing to grasp a fundamental law of human life in this world.
So now I want to share with you a law and a secret which I believe are central to our conduct and progress in this world: The Law of Contamination/Purification and the Secret of Small Things.
1. THE LAW OF CONTAMINATION/PURIFICATION
As you can see in the dialogue above between me and A.N. Other (which is a verbatim account of what has often happened), the world in which we live is one in which genuine modesty, humility, self-effacement and refusing to sell one’s soul are regarded with derision and disbelief and looked upon as signs of weakness and powerlessness. One is expected to be pushy and full of oneself, as well as being a virtual prostitute. People are drawn to celebrity and judge people who they meet on that basis. (Think how often people have told you they saw such-and-such a famous person in the street or on the train, as if that somehow makes them more interesting!). It’s as if they think that others will admire them too because the other person’s celebrity will somehow rub off on them. Actually, there is a sense in which they are right. FOR DARKNESS CONTAMINATES, POLLUTES AND DEFILES BY ASSOCIATION AND AFFILIATION. The narcissistic glittershit and hubris of that person’s celebrity will become part of you if you think that their celebrity is attractive and desirable. This is a law which goes almost completely unrecognised in the world as it is constituted today. Contamination by association. Darkness is contagious for the gullible; and, believe me… celebrity today is darkness — a snare, if ever there was one. If you envy and desire the darkness of another, dream of it, relish it and roll it around in your mind, you leave yourself wide open to being contaminated by it. That’s one of the ways that it finds its way in. It will seep into you like sewage getting into a water supply. And you won’t even be aware of it happening.
However, the other side of this law is that in the same way that darkness contaminates, pollutes and defiles by association and affiliation, so LIGHT PURIFIES, REFINES AND CLEANSES BY ASSOCIATION AND AFFILIATION. This is why it is so important who or what one associates with or is intimate with. Choosing one’s acquaintances, mates, friends and lovers wisely is a vital part of our growth and development as human beings. The darkness or light of other people or situations rubs off on us as surely as if we’d brushed our bodies against a newly-painted wall. This is a law.
So when we create a true work of art (which is a gift from the Muse and not just some autonomous production to bolster our egos), if we are doing so in order to achieve celebrity, fame and great wealth, then we have defiled the true purpose of art, which is to enhance this fallen world with challenge, beauty, awakening, healing, catharsis and heart-to-heart communication.
2. THE SECRET OF SMALL THINGS
As well as there being that law of contamination/purification, there is another aspect to the creation of art. Namely, what I call the secret of small things. In our rush to see world-fame and celebrity plus vast wealth as signs of success, we neglect to see that the real success of true art comes in small things which are barely noticeable to the human eye. I’m speaking here about the obscure but powerful effect of our art on the hearts of invisible people, so that the art is not so much about the artist but about the invisible power of his or her art. In other words, the thing to do is not think “How can I get rich and famous through my art?” but “how can I be of benefit to the Universe and fulfil the work of the Muse through my art?” (When I say “the Muse” I mean the supernatural power which lies behind all genuinely creative work). I like to meditate on the fact that music has the power to heal a blocked or broken heart. I like to dwell on the fact that the hidden forces of this universe will ensure that the music reaches the right hearts for the art to do that work. Thus, when a materialistic person says to me: “So… did you make lots of money then?” I can reply “No, not in the way you mean; but there have been far greater treasures than that through the music”. These treasures are the “secret of small things” to which I am referring.
Let me give you an example of this — not as any kind of boast but to encourage you and demonstrate the power of art which is dedicated to the work of the Muse. Not long after my recent release concert in Stockholm, I received an email from a member of the orchestra which was on stage with me expressing his gratitude. He went on to say:
“My friend xxxxxxx was also deeply affected by your music. I knew he would be. He’s been going through a bit of a rough patch lately so your music was the uplifting experience he needed. Whoever said music can’t cure illness?!”
That is a huge thing, to speak of music healing an emotional or spiritual affliction. Then, a few days later, his friend wrote to me:
“I cannot say anything else than that the power of music is amazing. I LOVE it for all that it brings. I came to your concert by chance — one could say — but whether it was a coincidence or not that your words/music happened to shine a light on a few occurrences [which happened to me] during preceding days, I can leave for somebody else to speculate.”
I will speculate here and say that it was definitely NOT a coincidence. This is the kind of situation which the unseen forces of light specialise in setting up. If an artist has dedicated his or her creation to the Muse, then that same power will ensure that his or her art will reach the places other means can never reach. Doors will be opened. Hearts will be melted. Souls will be healed. This is what happens with true art when the art and its potential to heal is the focus of the creation rather than a desire to increase the riches and fame of the artist. This is the real reward to which I aim — infinitely more important than fake celebrity or fickle wealth.
Over the years, I have received very many messages of a similar nature; and there must also be many others who never got round to communicating. These are the small things which happen in secret in a heart. And let me tell you some other aspects of these “small things”:
SMALL THINGS ACCUMULATE. Small things go completely unrecognised by mostpeople as harbingers of big things. Yet, when all are taken together they accumulate into something big. That could take months. It could take years. It may not even become something big in your lifetime. The “bigness” may be posthumous. Even then, it may not be visible bigness — just big when considered from an unworldly perspective, if one had the special eyes to see it like that. Someone healed by one’s art could go on to do great things for the Universe which may never have been done otherwise. The sum total of small effects of one’s work could eventually be massive. One will most likely never see it or live to see it. The artist may die in obscurity from an exclusively worldly point of view. But “success” measured supernaturally is infinitely more important. [I think of dear Franz Schubert, dead of a horrible disease at age 31, poverty-stricken, never appreciated by more than a small circle of friends during his brief lifetime in early 19th century Vienna, yet sixty years later his profound and unique music of the heart would significantly influence composers Anton Bruckner and Gustav Mahler and — almost two centuries after his death in 1828 — his music (more than 1500 works, including 9 symphonies and 15 string quartets!) still has a mighty powerful effect on the soul, making it leap with joy and love].
SMALL THINGS ARE WHAT ANGELS LOVE TO BUILD ON. Oh yes! The unseen world is what makes small things big in the world of the seen. So many do not realise that we are in the midst of a spiritual battle in this world today. Dark powers from the unseen zones are forcing art towards fame, glamour, celebrity, great wealth, grovelling sycophancy, narcissism, greed, exploitation, sexual abuse and any other destructive circumstances on which they can feed. On the other hand, the forces of light from the heavenly places are influencing art towards the healing of hearts in distress, the beautification of this fallen world (part of the important “aesthetics” about which I have written earlier in another article), the reversal of ailments, positive human development, nurturance, generosity, fellowship, sexual fulfilment and any constructive circumstances which can be fostered. If our motives are dark then the forces of darkness will exploit that. If our motives are in accordance with the light, then the angelic powers of light will put our art to good use. Guaranteed!
SMALL THINGS GO COMPLETELY AGAINST THE TOUCHSTONE OF THE OLD AEON. I mentioned earlier that when the woman said: “So… did you make lots of money then?” it’s what I call “an old aeon blurt”. We are coming to end of an aeon (age) which is based on narcissism, the lust for power, competitiveness, mendacity, consumption and greed. These are things which seem to come naturally because of the invasion of darkness; but they are in fact wholly unnatural. So when this woman heard I had gone off to record an album and release it, like most others she could only see it in old-aeon terms, i.e. the accrual of fame, becoming a celebrity and thereby making loads of money. So then she had to blurt out her unthinking question. An old-aeon blurt. It came from her mouth involuntarily because the whole concept of making an album to heal the world through reaching invisibly into people’s hearts (seemingly small things) is completely alien to the old aeon mind.
SMALL THINGS ARE THE ADVANCE LEGACY OF THE NEW AEON. The new aeon (age) to come — of which we are on the cusp right now (which is why there is so much turmoil in the world) will be an age in which one will not be judged by how cool one is, or how smart one is, or how much one is designer-dressed, or how famous one is, or how pretty or sexy or handsome one is, or how posh one may speak, or what car one has, or what prestigious job one does, or what paper qualifications one has achieved, or how much property one has, or how much money one has in the bank. Instead, in the new aeon, one will be valued by one’s wisdom, one’s willingness to learn, one’s honourableness, one’s patience, one’s fidelity, one’s creativity, one’s imagination, one’s depth, one’s generosity, one’s magnanimousness, one’s humility, one’s trust in the unseen and so much more of a similar nature. In the new aeon, small things will be seen for the latent wonders that they are, for one will be more consciously aware of the big picture than people are now. This is why I say that small things are the advance legacy of the new aeon. However, we don’t need to wait for the new aeon to become fully fledged in order to be able to live it. WE CAN LIVE IT RIGHT NOW by not being caught up in old-aeon thinking concerning fame and fortune but, instead, trusting in the small things and their unseen consequences in the unfolding of the Universe at this weird but exciting point in history.
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© Alan Morrison, 2016
The Naked Troubadour 