“Trying is only emphasizing
the thing we know already.”
F.M. Alexander
We shape the world and the world shapes us.
Passion in performance is priceless; it is part of
the movement of what we might call a transcendental
spirit-energy, an energy which carries us up and over
our prosaic petty state of daily isolation; it carries us—
alone and collectively—to some wild, unknown and
wonderful place. Passion in performance is the heart
and soul of real, living, artistic excellence. And yet,
what is so difficult to grasp is that, passion in performance,
like humility, is always unaware of itself. A style or species
of inauthentic self-conscious passion, however, has
become the norm not just on TV and in the films of
Hollywood, but also the pop and classical music stages
of the world; it is but a cheap imitation, a kind of 2nd-hand
reality. The Muse will allow neither for true Love to be
faked nor sold. See the fact: We can pay for sex. The
outward movements are much the same. But we all
know the difference, and this difference is perhaps all
we can know. In other words: we observe in neutrality—
that is, dispassionately—the fact of why and that we
generally are:—not passionate.