“There is a candle in your heart waiting to be kindled. There is a void in your soul ready to be filled. You feel it, don’t you? You feel the separation from the Beloved. Invite (its presence) to fill you up. Embrace the fire.”
~ Rumi
“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” - Steve Jobs
Life is a spiritual path. You may have heard people describing how they began their spiritual path, or found a spiritual path, but in reality, they’ve been on that path all along.
You cannot be on any other path except that of spirit, for, as Pierre Teilhard de Chardin noted, “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.”
Who is more spiritual? A devoted monk or a successful businesswoman? A member of the clergy or a wilderness teacher? ”Spiritual” is not something you do, it is something you are. And we are all spiritual beings, regardless of the occupation in which we work or the belief system we’ve chosen. We are always on a spiritual path.
(This post originally appeared in ACM)
You have the answers.
Here’s a short video on breaking down seemingly insurmountable tasks into smaller pieces… taking any project step by step.
And if you haven’t read Bird by Bird, it’s fantastic. I dare say “essential” for writers, but Lamott is so good, anyone can benefit from her insights on life.
Don’t have the energy to do what you want to do? Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Do the thing and you will get the energy to do the thing.”
And if every way is
closed before you,
the secret One
will show a
secret path
no other eyes
have seen.
~ Rumi
This is a great compilation of interviews with Will Smith. I didn’t know much about his philosophy apart from a few soundbites I’d heard around the time The Pursuit of Happyness came out, but check out what he’s got to say. His passion and his message provide a crucial voice for today’s world, where people often believe they are the victim of circumstances outside of their control (the economy, the government, et cetera). Will offers a different, and refreshing, perspective:
Greatness exists in all of us.
Lay one brick at a time.
Focus on making a difference.
Represent an idea.
You have to believe.
Nothing is unrealistic.
Be willing to die for the Truth.
Protect your dream.
And one of my favorite quotes: “Being realistic is the most commonly traveled road to mediocrity.”
