On The Aesthetic Transcendence Of Anxiety

Anxiety in everyday use usually means anxiety emotion and anxiety disorder,but from the perspective of etymology and existentialism,anxiety refers to a kind of psychological state and mental state mixed with tension,uneasiness,doubt,hesitation,worry,fear and other emotions,which can also be called a state of existence.According to the different sources of anxiety,we divide it into death anxiety,love anxiety and nihility anxiety.These three subdivisions from bottom to top contain the challenges that physical existence and spiritual existence may encounter.Although anxiety sometimes affects our life and work,modern science has proved that moderate anxiety has a positive effect on us by keeping the body excited and mobilizing enthusiasm.Literature and art also prove that,on the one hand,anxiety is inevitable,because man is the unity of contradiction,and anxiety is the proof of human existence.On the other hand,anxiety is the Mephisto to human nature,which always stimulates us to be aggressive and creative.Therefore,the core purpose of this paper is to find ways to alleviate anxiety from the angle of aesthetics.The DaMei and sublime of nature can relax us.The DaMei of nature,such as the vast sea,boundless grassland and magnificent mountains,could take our anxiety with its vastness and infinite.More importantly,in the DaMei of nature,we fell calm and get primordial and exuberant vitality form it.As for the sublime of nature,such as the horrible lightning,steep cliffs and surging waves,surpasses human imagination and endurance,so as to stimulate the rational power of morality to self-affirmation,and arouse the courage to accept and fight anxiety.Nature can relax our minds,while art can transform anxiety to others.For one thing,through artistic expression and artistic experience,private melancholy becomes a type of big emotion transcending individual and possessing the community of human destiny.Artistic creators and appreciators can ponder anxiety in a higher perspective and focus on the fate of the group instead of individual grief.For another,the creation of artistic image means constantly "defamiliarize" the object.Through the constant feeling and reconstruction of anxiety,the artist finds a specific vehicle for anxiety,and gets a new understanding of anxiety.Finally,he deconstructs anxiety in a lofty,humorous,warm,playful or absurd way to achieve the creative aesthetic transcendence of anxiety.Of course,the ultimate transcendence of any living predicament depends on philosophy and religion.For most Chinese literati,they choose Taoism and Zen.Nature is the source of Taoism.In Taoism,"nature" is not only the original state at the beginning of heaven and earth,but also freedom,leisurely and carefree.More importantly,it is a spiritual state of quietness and calm.In order to achieve this ideal state,firstly we should abandon all kinds of physiological desires.Secondly,we need to abandon knowledge and thinking,cutting off the contact between ourselves and the outside world.Finally,we must abandon the human body.Compared with Taoism,Zen's approach pays more attention to the primitive energy of life.Zen believes we can rely on our natural wisdom to suddenly understand the true meaning of life in a moment,in everyday ordinary life.With the help of Taoism and Zen,we can live a peaceful and poetic life.