Modesty

An illustrative anecdote excerpted from an article about modesty by Nicolas Bommarito:

Jeff hates going to art museums. Not because he doesn’t like art, but because being in that situation stresses him out. He’s always worried that he’s spending too much time in front of the wrong paintings and not enough time in front of the right ones. He’s worried that someone will ask what he thinks about something and he won’t have an impressive-enough answer. He always feels like people are silently judging him as his behaviour reveals that he doesn’t know as much about art as they do.

Jeff’s predicament is a sad one, but it’s also a symptom of a certain self-centred orientation. Jeff presumes that in a room full of great works of art people will be paying attention to him and how much time he spends looking at different paintings. He assumes that, if someone asks him a question, they’re looking to size him up rather than get insight about the art. Jeff’s anxieties stem from a view of the world that put Jeff at the centre. Even the trip to the museum is, for him, less about the art than about Jeff viewing the art.

Part of what is sad about Jeff’s situation is that, in putting himself at the centre, he gets in his own way. Even though he’s in a museum full of great art, Jeff can’t really appreciate any of it. Someone who doesn’t care so much about coming off as smarter or more refined than others can become engrossed in the artworks or be moved by them without the constant distraction of sizing himself up.

You can read the full article online at Aeon, HERE.