If you’ve ever travelled through Italy, you’ve likely seen a creation by Michelangelo, the most revered sculptor of the Renaissance period. Michelangelo began life from humble beginnings. As a young child his mother was sick and eventually died, and he was brought up in the home of a stone cutter. His amazing natural talent led to his acceptance into an elite school of sculpting. His crooked nose was a reminder of this period where he became arrogant and criticised his fellow colleagues’ efforts, resulting in an offended student breaking his nose. It was a lesson in humility that Michelangelo never forgot.

As he grew in reputation and wisdom, he no longer saw himself as the creator of the statue. He said “In every block of marble I see a statue as plain as though it stood before me, shaped and perfect in attitude and action. I have only to hew away the rough walls that imprison the lovely apparition to reveal it to others’ eyes as I see it.” He believed that the statue lay hidden in the block of marble and his task was to clear away the superfluous matter and remove the rubbish.

Michelangelo was also a painter. His most famous work adorns the ceiling of the Sistine chapel. He said that while sculpture is made by taking away, painting is made by adding. Two very different processes that lead to something beautiful. Life often intimates art, as Oscar Wilde tells us. Perhaps we can learn from the artistic processes of taking away and adding to create a thing of beauty.

In everyday life we have opportunities to add beauty. See yourself as an artistic contributor to the culture around you. What is your contribution to the culture in your workplace, home, school or wherever you find yourself? We can have vision like Michelangelo, seeing the potential beauty hidden under the visible chaos. Like a sculptor, we can assess what doesn’t belong there: criticism, grudges, judgement, defensiveness. Michelangelo learnt the hard way that criticism is part of the superfluous which gets in the way of beauty and leaves a lasting impact. Sculpting requires patience as it takes much time to slowly chisel away at the unwanted and sometimes harmful debris. You might recognise something in another person that doesn’t belong: frustration, pain, anger.
Rather than reacting and reinforcing that which is covering up the beauty inside, find a way to alleviate their distress.

Like painters, we can add our personal touches to our culture. These can take the form of encouragement, kindness, a listening ear or a helping hand. You might think you have little to offer when it comes to contributing to culture, but every one of us has our own sphere of influence that we rarely acknowledge. Young eyes that look to you, neighbours, relatives, colleagues, the person who serves you coffee; all are impacted by your responses to them. Brighten their day by adding a pleasant experience and bringing out the beauty inside.

Linda Gray
linda@relationshipsanctuary.com.au
0401 517 243