Lantern Of The Inner Light

by Mario A. Campanaro

Lantern Of The Inner Light

by Mario A. Campanaro

"As long as I can remember, I’ve been intensely passionate about observing and trying to discern what motivates us to make the choices we do in relation to the outcomes we consciously or unconsciously desire. Though taking in the world this way may not always make me the life of the party (lol), it definitely keeps me extremely present with the company I keep. Humanity fascinates me. What we do, how we interact, how we listen or don’t, how we respond or don’t, how even our own silence triggers me to understand and apply it all to Life and Art. I always want to know what’s behind the social mask because the false concept of what the social mask represents is blatantly obvious.

Yet, what I witness over and over again is that damn thing called ‘fear.’ It’s not the kind of fear you feel when a tornado is about to spin and stimulate the sympathetic nervous system. It’s that invisible, internal, omnipresent fear that whispers to us in the back of our minds. It’s a fear of reality. Imagine that, a fear of reality… of everyday life as it actually is, in this here and now, present moment. And then that fear expands to other parts of our life, like the Exxon oil spill corroding our perception of ourselves and the world we live in. We begin to experience a fear of connection between one another and our environment. We then develop a fear of compassion and kindness because it feels foreign, creating all these ‘what ifs’ that come with the ‘risk’ of opening our hearts to others.

So we begin to hide our authentic selves, exacerbating a fear of vulnerability, afraid of being seen and judged beyond a filtered ‘it’s all okay’ existence. YUP, WE GET A FEAR OF WHO WE TRULY ARE BEHIND THE MASK. And so, to mask our fear, we adjust our behavior and our connections to avoid being seen or affected in a profound way, a human way.

The one thing that has remained constant in everything I have observed is that we all yearn for our experience to be witnessed and validated. This connects all of us. But we go on validating our filtered lives as if our life is our own avatar, never getting to reveal our true essence. What astounds me the most is when all the cover up is dropped and things get real. I see people start to breathe deeper. It’s like a heavy burdensome weight has been lifted. I can see their eyes shine brighter. I can hear their voices vibrate stronger. And most of all, I can see them happier, experiencing newfound peace. Not because something has been lost, but because something real has been found.

And maybe this is where the question of purpose actually begins.

One of the greatest questions that humanity faces, individually and collectively, is purpose. What’s it all for? What does it matter? Does my life mean anything? We ask these questions not in vain, but with depth, authenticity, and a true desire to understand why we are here. And one of the most important answers that we often come up with is that we want to live a life that is happy, healthy, peaceful, and prosperous. At the end of the day, that’s what we all want.

Things get complicated and tainted when we add in power, greed, and a host of other things that we see in humanity yesterday, today, and most likely in the future. However, that does not mean that who we are and what we do does not matter. Everything in life is cause and effect. That’s the nature of acting. Somebody wants something, somebody does something, and there is a response to it.

Now obviously, we can’t control the response, but we have control over our mind, our intention, and what we want to accomplish. As artists, we have to remember something. We are powerful. The nature of what we do is to create, to bring something that lives in the unknown and bring it down into a three dimensional world to create a mirror that reflects back to humanity who we are, what we’re dealing with, and what we want, in some way, somehow, to improve the present situation.

Looking at what just happened with Artemis, it brings that to the light, that what human beings are capable of is nothing short of remarkable. And the one thing that truly stood out was the common goal toward expansion and collection. One of the things that these wonderful astronauts spoke about is that though we are somewhere in space, there is nothing like home. And that’s important, understanding that home first is within. By working on within, it gives the opportunity to express something without. This is what the artist needs to constantly be cultivating and nurturing, the life force that lives within.

I say it time and time again, but whatever is going on within the artist, it’s like a lantern. It will illuminate from the vessel. We hear all the time in acting, you have to get out of your head. I agree. There’s got to be a point where the work lives in the body. But outside of the work, introspection is essential. We constantly need to be exploring what lives within us to be able to use that life force and put it into our work, which therefore contributes to humanity.

But here’s where it all connects back to what we were really speaking about in the first place. When we are disconnected from ourselves, when fear builds that internal distance between who we are and who we present, we don’t just lose authenticity. We lose clarity of purpose. It becomes difficult to understand what we are here for when we are not fully in contact with what is already here within us. The mask doesn’t only hide who we are from others, it also clouds what we are meant to create, contribute, and express.

Human beings are capable of greatness. Each and every one of us is capable of greatness. So what holds us back? It’s simple. What we think.

There are going to be times in life where it’s difficult. There are going to be times where you just want to throw your hands up and give up. I understand that. You are not alone in that. However, the ability to say to yourself, yes, this moment is not great. I am going to take a breath, I am going to take a moment, bring my nervous system to a place of stability, and then carry on. Not with the intention of grinding, not with the intention of forcing, but with the intention of creative flow. With ease, with joy, and with generosity.

If we give ourselves the opportunity to know that there is greatness that lives within each and every one of us, we won’t be so intimidated by going through the difficult times, because we know it’s those difficult times that continue to shape, mold, and specify the greatness that we have and what to do with it. But the only one to do that is us alone. We have to first be able to look inside and say to ourselves, what do I have to give? How do I change my mindset to nurture what lives within me? And then how do I offer it to the world in a way that doesn’t cost me my entire nervous system, but pays me back with how I’ve helped contribute to the world and the goodness of humanity?

When we look at Artemis, you see the sacrifice that every single one of those astronauts made, and how they put themselves in a situation where they lived in the complete unknown. But the belief in what lived within, and the trust in what they created, gave them the faith to know that the mission they’re on means something, and it’s worthy of pursuing.

So I ask you, what lives within, and then how are you going to use what is within to contribute to the world in a way that you feel not only fulfilled, but there is meaning behind it for yourself and the rest of the world. Your footprints matter. But you have to make them."