A lesson from Egypt

Those of you who know me are very familiar with my art history obsession. Healthy, unhealthy, whatever, I've learned a lot, and I apply it to my life. One such lesson comes from the Ancient Egyptians and their predictable, dependable art.

People think they know Egyptian art, think they can identify it in a museum so fast, they could put Light to shame. Chances are, they probably can. Why? Because for almost 2000 years while the Egyptian civilization thrived, their art hardly changed. It was the same Laws of Frontality and homage to the Gods for every piece. It's not hard to figure out! 

The real interest for art historians is why this happened. Why did the Egyptians maintain such a structured artistic formula for so long? What did they gain from this uniformity and monumentalism?

Power. Permanence. Timelessness. 

Like a great tattoo, the Egyptians wanted to have meaning forever. They never wanted to die. Their ka, or spirit, was meant to last an eternity, and shit man, they were going to make that happen. Every pyramid, obelisk and sphinx (oh, Khafre) was created and engineered with the simple notion that it would stand tall tens of thousands of years later. I hate the social structure and stifled creativity of Egyptian art, but it has gone on to teach me much more than outdated artistic conventions. (The history of art is generally a more philosophical journey than anything else. But I digress.)

Should my life be timeless too? Shouldn't I last forever?!

Lately, I've really been focusing on doing things for me, for my own sake and to no one else's taste. For the first time in my life, I'm completely disregarding what others tell me and climbing a fucking tree. I've never said no to anyone just because. If it was within a rough range of my capabilities, I went all out for other people. 

No more. 

No, I will not lend you a dollar.

Fuck no, you cannot have my favorite mechanical pencil.

Asshole, do I look like a vending machine? Get the fuck away from my food. 

(Obviously there are more major things I have been denying lately. I will still lend out dollars and pencils and food to people, I promise.)

I'm hoping this will lead to my permanence and my timelessness. I don't know how, and I don't even care. They may seem like unrelated concepts, but look closely and you will see a correlation. Alone day 2012? Best idea of my life. I was a self-confident bitch, and it felt great! Being by myself has been looking incredibly appealing lately, and it helps me be more productive. 

Don't get me wrong, I still don't love being single. There's a sense of security in relationships that you just don't have when you're alone. But sometimes, when I take a risk and do something daring all by myself, it's worth much more than any late night text or goodnight kiss.

"I mean, they say you die twice. One time when you stop breathing and a second time, a bit later on, when somebody says your name for the last time." - Banksy (Love this guy. Oh, street art.)

The Egyptians only died once. And goddammit, so will I. 

Mona