A story I recently heard on the news got me thinking about how the city of Detroit's bankruptcy might hold some clues to your own well-being. Allow me to explain.

Detroit is a city that's been experiencing some severe "symptoms" in these difficult times: if it were an individual we could probably diagnose it with depression, anxiety, even Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. In an attempt to create some time and space to reflect, regroup, and begin the process of becoming again a city that will not only survive but thrive, Detroit filed for bankruptcy back in July.

The news story I heard was about a small group of people with a particularly craven suggestion for how to respond to this bankruptcy: they want the Detroit Institute of Arts, a prestigious museum owned by the city, to sell off the artistic masterpieces in its prized collection, including works by Van Gogh, Matisse, and others. In an interview with Warren Olney of NPR's "To The Point," Mark Stryker, the Arts Reporter for the Detroit Free Press, said this:

"The question becomes...how do we define what a city is? Is it simply a collection of departments that provide trash pickup, police & fire protection? Or is a city a much larger kind of entity that has to do with a community, a cultural soul, the notion of a place where intellect and culture come together and offer a sense of aspiration."

Stryker went on to note that selling the art would be, at best, a short-term measure, lining the pockets a few already-rich creditors, and leaving Detroit not only in about the same place financially, but also stripped of the cultural assets that are essential to a deeper sense of rebuilding.

During stressful, troubling periods in your life, you, too, might feel the need to "file for bankruptcy," to do something that will create time and space for you to reflect, regroup, and rebuild.  Such a "filing" might include pulling back from your usual expenditures of time and energy, withdrawing a bit, even entering into psychotherapy to explore the deeper meaning of your concerns, and what it might look like to make your way through them.

At times like this, you may find yourself searching for any course of action that looks like it will provide some immediate relief...and that's when it can be tempting to "sell the art," to give up soul-sustaining, long-term assets in the desperate hope that you'll feel a little bit better NOW. You forgo a nutritious, life-giving meal and instead indulge in alcohol and junk food...You pass up the chance to see what would have been an uplifting, inspiring movie with some friends and instead stay home on the couch watching "reality TV"...You skip taking a walk, or spending a few moments in silent meditation, or playing some treasured music on your CD or MP3 player, so that you can get to the office a few minutes earlier and maybe "get ahead"...Or you tell your therapist "I can't spend time reflecting on some dream I had last night, I need techniques, something practical..."

A friend of mine recently told me about driving home one Wednesday night, worn out after a long day at work (I love that this story takes place on a Wednesday night, which is perhaps the perfect symbol for the ordinary middle, the unremarkable, the in-the-moment now). On the commute home, he heard a story on the radio about a rumor that popular Seattle-based rap artist Macklemore might be filming a music video that night at a local landmark not far from his home. Though he thought it sounded interesting and fun, he at first said to himself "I'm just too tired." When he got home, however, he somehow summoned the energy to turn around and head back out to see the filming, and his enthusiasm proved contagious enough for one of his children to agree to come along. They wound up, through a few quirks of fate, in the front row, and returned home late that night with some great memories, and with their emotional coffers filled in ways they hadn't imagined when they woke up that morning.

I am in no way meaning to shame the occasional need we all feel to say "Not today," to indulge in a little escape, a little relief: a drink or some comfort food, a "guilty pleasure" TV show, a little more sleep. The point is this: as a city is more than just "a collection of departments that provide trash pickup, police & fire protection," you are more than just an entity capable of accomplishing tasks and taking care of business. You have a soul that needs to be fed, a "sense of aspiration" that needs to be nurtured.

In the now-classic 1989 film "Dead Poets Society," Robin Williams plays John Keating, an English teacher at a high-powered, 1950s prep school, filled with boys whose parents have all sorts of ambitious plans for them to attain better lives through careers in engineering, law, medicine, and business. In a scene early in the film, Keating speaks passionately to the students in his poetry class about why they need "the art":  

"We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. Medicine, law, business, engineering, these are all noble pursuits, and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for. To quote from Whitman: 'O me, o life of the questions of these recurring, of the endless trains of the faithless, of cities filled with the foolish. What good amid these, o me, o life? Answer: that you are here. That life exists, and identity. That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.' That the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse...What will your verse be?" (to watch the scene on YouTube, click here). 

What will your verse be?

As you explore your own answer to that question, remember: there will be times when you will feel empty, spent, at the end of your rope...when you will feel 'bankrupt.' That's OK. There is a way back, a way through. Just don't sell the art.

(back to Table of Contents) 

1. "Foundations" (Leopold Staff) 
2. "Sex Ed" (Betsy Sholl)   
3. "Night Vision" (Suzanne Vega)  

 (back to Table of Contents)