Art Beat: Pause, it’s reinforcement

Hi, my name is Jacob Mann. I cover the Art Beat for the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman.

My job teaches me something new every day. Sometimes it’s more than I bargained for and other times it leaves me in a revolving door of reflection.

People with brains like mine crave novelty. I eat up new information and experiences like candy. Thankfully, my work as a reporter introduces me to new people, new ideas, and new ways of looking at things every day.

Thanks to my editor, I get to track down arts and entertainment stories across the Valley in addition to all the other kinds of stories we all cover to share the overarching community narrative and important happenings. This multilayered tapestry of stories is what makes a community newspaper work and the ability to write stories inline with each reporter’s strengths and interests on top of their normal assignments feeds our inner selves, thus giving us more energy, inspiration, and passion to do our best work.

I’ve been interviewing all kinds of creative people for the last five years, and I look forward to making my small town life even smaller by connecting all those dots that makes a community work, a notion I took for granted in my youth. As a parent and someone intent on doing what my gut tells me to do, I take solace in the role I found myself in. I intend to play my part for my kid’s sake, the community’s sake, and for my own sake.

I always tell people I couldn’t live in a world where I couldn’t write down my thoughts and ideas. I’ve spent countless hours telling the stories of all kinds of people from all kinds of places, so I feel the same way about writing down the thoughts and ideas of others. I’m lucky that I can do both, thanks to my regular duties as a reporter and my weekly column.

The reason I’m yammering on and on about myself again this week is because I’ve been pondering the butterfly effect/string theory/multiverse implications of positive reinforcement and the role it plays in a person’s ultimate path in life.

When I was talking to Roland Roberts about his creative journey developing his musical career, he told me that he grew up around music and was surrounded by positive support, lessons and encouragement from his family and friends.

I asked Roland when he really got the fire burning past the point of no return, the moment when he determined that he was going to go full force with music. He said that he played a set with several covers from artists like John Prine along with his original music, some of the first songs he ever wrote.

He said that after the show, people told him that his covers were good, but they really liked his original work and that’s what he should focus on.

“I’ve been hooked ever since,” Roland said.

Roland said that initial positive reinforcement was all it took to get him off and running, cementing his belief that he was onto something and the fact that he had what it took to make it as an artist.

I constantly worry about what I’m going to do that my son is going to remember forever. Obviously, all of us parents want our kids to have the best lives possible. Something else that’s obvious is the fact that despite our own parents best intentions, things inadvertently stuck with us all our lives. Upon introspection, I’ve noticed that most of these things are good, for which I’m lucky, and only a few lingering floaties make me go, “gee, thanks a lot Dad, or thanks for that one Mom.”

I try to keep that in mind when I’m interacting with my son, hoping to foster mostly positive momentum in his life with minimal side effects. It’s an art more than science I hear.

I wound up here writing to you folks every week because somewhere along the way someone said I was good at writing. And off I went. Sure, people also told me I was good at drawing cartoons and that was actually Plan A, but that’s a story for another time.

My point is that life happens without our permission, and if we don’t pause to make sure we’re being positive to the people around us every once in a while, we could miss vital opportunities to show them their inner lights.

Each day, we have the chance to be grateful we’re even alive. We have a daily opportunity to try and slow down and take in what’s going on around us. Life altering events aren’t always a dramatic occurrence. In fact, I believe most of who we are comes from the moments seemingly mundane, a slow burn if you will.

I’ll leave you with this. Next time you’re with someone doing something for the first time, try to be nice for crying out loud. They may end up becoming rich and famous, and you could get cut off that cheddar down the road.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann at jacob.mann@frontiersman.com