Are You a Social Artist? It’s Your Turn.
The rosy job outlook for social artists is hinted at in a recent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report. And although it quantifies more traditional mental health professions, “…a rose by any other name…,” to quote Mr. Shakespeare.
The mental health industry is expected to grow by 25 percent between 2019 and 2029, according to the BLS. But for all of us whose work is about emotional wellbeing, those numbers are applicable. Indeed, together, we are in the meta-industry of Social Artists.
What is a Social Artist?
Jean Houston, a mythologist and scholar, defined the term “Social Artist” years ago: an individual focused on personal and planetary evolution.
Increasingly, Houston’s definition included heads of state and world leaders. But Social Artists also work locally and in small groups, and one-on-one. His/her/their work is defined not by context but by a way of being, seeing and working.
Implied in Houston’s definition of Social Artist is a high level of Emotional Intelligence (EQ), a term popularized by psychologist Dan Goleman 25 years ago. (In a nutshell, EQ is the ability to “intuit” feelings, motives and concerns in oneself and others.)
Are You a Social Artist?
Social Artists are in many professions, notes Houston. They work as:
Therapists
Coaches
Spiritual companions
Educators
Artists
Consultants
The above list is not inclusive. Many Social Artists transcend categories, or create new ones altogether. They also use the skills of the Social Artist in nonprofessional contexts.
Why It’s Important to Know You’re a Social Artist
For many years, I thought I was odd, and the work I did an anomaly. But when I enrolled in a graduate program in Transformative Language Arts, I found my way home.
This is what naming does and why it is powerful. It locates us in the larger story. It allows us to find our peeps. It gives us language to say who we are and what we do. It also places our story in a larger context.
There is also a social boon to the creation of a broader umbrella of “Social Artist.” We help to melt the silos and transform the larger social model itself.
The Collective Call for Social Artists
After the storming of the U.S. capitol on January 6, U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi invoked the Song of St. Francis. As she asked her colleagues to be a “channel for peace,” I noticed golden angel wings behind her, framing her body.
Of course, they weren’t angel wings (were they?), but that momentary shift in reality reminded me that Forces of the Light—and Darkness—are all around us, coaxing-coaching-commanding us to birth a new story and mythology.
Are you a Social Artist? If so, perhaps it’s time to rally your circle of peers, and build the energy, skills and inspiration required for planetary evolution. It’s time for me to.
M. Carolyn Miller, MA, designs narrative- and game-based learning. She also writes and speaks about the power of story in our lives and world. www.cultureshape.com