Sunday, October 3, 2010

Arts As Important As Food

There is a Persian proverb that says:
If you have but two coins, use one for bread to feed the body and the other for hyacinths to feed the soul.
Beauty in all forms has long been known to promote health and happiness. This beauty may be in the form of flowers or man-made art, whether that be in the form of film, music, live performances, painting, poetry, or my personal favorite, sculpture.

According to researcher Dan Buettner in his latest book, Thrive,

Art, like flowers, nourishes the soul. Happy people usually have access to art...and live in places that are attractive to the eye. A city must provide venues for artists to create and exhibit their work...
One of the examples given in Thrive as a city doing a good job of this is the town of my alma mater, San Luis Obispo, California. It seems that students had good reasons for wanting to stick around this beautiful, inspiring, and art-nurturing city!