Right now, I am sitting on a bench at the Metropolitan Museum of Art staring at Rembrandt’s “Aristotle With A Bust Of Homer,” which was painted in 1653. As I marvel at its beauty, along with the rest of the pieces in this shrine to artistic history – I cannot get over how intricate and beautiful all of these items are – and how much of that we have lost as our society “evolved.”

Besides paintings and statues, the Museum also has furniture, tapestries, jewelry, armor, musical instruments and even sections of buildings housed within its floors – and everything in here is so rich with intricate detail that I am absolutely humbled at the effort of those who created these masterpieces. In today’s world, we are so focused on the acquisition of wealth and power that everything we create is for convenience and profit rather than beauty. But when these works of art were created – the main focus of the artist was the completion of their work – even if it took weeks to finish.

Take Rembrandt for example. This room that I am sitting in has 14 portraits done by Rembrandt in the early 1600s. Although they are oil paintings that are hundreds of years old – they seem to come to life as if they are digital photographs – which was something completely inconceivable at the time. If not for Rembrandt’s meticulous attention to detail and creative passion for his works – they would not be housed in a museum and marveled at by every person who gazes upon it.

Since these paintings were created, we as a society have advanced tremendously. For example, I am typing a column about these hundreds year old paintings on a laptop computer, something that did not exist at the time Rembrandt was painting this particular portrait. But despite our modern advances, no one today would put as much effort into painting a picture as he did. And to me, that is a true shame.

Granted, we have much more in 2005 than those who lived in the Baroque period, but I feel that they were the ones who lived better. Back then, artists like Rembrandt had a clear enough mind to concentrate on the masterpieces that he created – instead of having to worry about getting to work on time, paying the cable bill, and the ever-present threat of terrorism. With all of our modern conveniences comes more things to worry about, and as a result – less time to focus on the simpler things in life, like painting one of the greatest works of our time.

I still have much of the Museum to see before my friend Lisa and I leave the Met, and I am sure that after I am finished here – I will leave with a more profound sense of the importance of enjoying the simple things in life – and all of its intricate details.