On Vanity

I was talking with a very good friend of mine recently who admitted she is vain and therefore resists taking risks for fear of being disliked or seen as imperfect.

This felt wrong to me, so I sat with it for a day or two pondering Vanity (and its overlords Pride and Ego).

I realized these behaviors leave us open to manipulation, certainly as people but also as artists. We become targets of and enthralled to other people’s likes and dislikes. That isn’t fair, and in light of all I have learned in recent months, our art deserves to be put out there as much as anyone else’s.

To put it more succinctly, the problem with Vanity is that one succumbs to the whims of praise or withholdings from others. Be your own person, unapologetically and without need of someone else’s approval.

Love yourself, love your art!