6. The War of Art- Territory
by
Nov 16. 2020
'The War of Art' 은 오래전 뉴욕에 시나리오 작가들을 위한 세미나에서 추천 받은 책이에요. 작가들이나 아티스트들을 위한 책인데 일반 직장인들에게도 유효한 것 같아요. 마직막 질문에 대한 여러분의 답변은 어떤 것인가요?
Territory versus Hierarchy
In the animal kingdom, individuals define themselves in one of two ways-by their rank within a hierarchy(a hen in peckingorder, a wolf in a pack) or by their connection to a territory (a home base, ahunting ground, a turf).
This is how individuals – humans as well as animals – achieve psychological security. They know where they stand. The world makes sense. Of the two orientations, the hierarchical seems to be default setting. It’s the one that kicks in automatically when we’re kids. We run naturally in packs and cliques; without thinking about it, we know who’s the top dog and who’s the underdog. And we know our own place. We define ourselves,instinctively it seems, by our position within the schoolyard, the gang, the club.
It’s only later in life, usually after a stern education in the university of hard knocks, that we begin to explore the territorial alternative.
Fome some of us, this saves our lives.
The hierarchical orientation
Most of us define ourselves hierarchically and don’t even know it. It’s hard not to. School, advertising, the entire materialist culture drills us from birth to define ourselves by other’s opinions.Drink this beer, get this job, look this way and everyone will love you.
What is a hierarchy, anyway?
Hollywod is a hierarchy. So are Washington,Wall Street, and the Daughters of the American Revolution. High school is the ultimate hierarchy. And it works; in a pond that small, the hierarchical orientation succeeds. The cheerleaders knows where she fits, as does the dweebin the Chess Club. Each has found a niche. The system works.
There’s a problem with the hierarchicalo rientation, though. When the number get too big, the thing breaks down. Apecking order can hold only so many chickens. In Massapequa High, you can findyour place. Move to Manhattan and the trick no longer works. New York City istoo big to function as a hierarchy. So is IBM. So is Michigan State. Theindividual is multitudes this vast feels overwhelmed, anonymous. He issubmerged in the mass. He’s lost.
We humans seem to have been in wired by our evolutionary past to function most comfortably in a tribe of twenty to say,eight hundred. We can push it maybe to a few thousand, even to five figures.But at some point it maxes out. Our brains can’t file that many faces. We thrash around, flashing our badges of status and wondering why nobody gives a shit.
We have entered Mass Society. The hierarchyis too big. It doesn’t work anymore.
The territorial orientation.
There’s a three-legged coyote who lives up the hill from me. All the garbage cans in the neighborhood belong to him. It’s his territory. Every now and then some four-legged intruder tries to take over.They can’t do it. On his home turf, even a peg-leg critter is invincible.
We humans have territories too. Ours are psychological. Steve Wonder’s territory is the piano. Arnold Schwarzenegger’sis the gym. When Bill Gates pulls into the parking lot at Microsoft, he’s on his territory.
When I sit down to write, I’m on mine.
What are the qualities of a territory?
1) A territory provides sustenance. Runners know what a territory is. So do rock climbers and kayakers and yogis. Artist and entrepreneurs know what a territory is. The swimmer who towels off after finishing her laps feels a helluva lot better that the tired, cranky person whodove into the pool thirty minutes earlier.
2) A territory sustains us without any external input. A territory is a closed feedback loop. Our role is to put effort andlove; the territory absorbs this and gives it back to us in the form of well-being.When experts tell us that exercise (or any other effort-requiringactivity)banishes depression, this is what they mean.
3) A territory can only be claimed alone.You can team with a partner, you can work out with a friend, but you only need yourself to soak up your territory’s juice.
4) A territory can only be claimed by work.When Arnold Schwarzenegger hits the gym, he’s on his own turf. But what made ithis own are the hours and years of sweat he put to clam it. A territory doesn’tgive, it gives back.
5) A territory returns exactly what you put in. Territories are fair. Every erg of energy you put in goes infallibly into your account. A territory never devalues. A territory never crashes. What you deposited, you get back, dollar-for-dollar.
What’s your territory?
