A friend asked me a question lately:
“I used to be a very creative person" she said, "my mind would storm with 100s of ideas, pictures and stories all the time… When I read a book, watch a movie or attend a seminar, I got so inspired and generated so many ideas, things to do, blogs to write, music to compose… Where did all this go? My mind feels so empty now… why don’t I get those inspiring thoughts any longer?”
I knew exactly what she was talking about… my mind works exactly the same… a highly creative mind that doesn’t seem to rest… it keeps generating more and more and even more… that is until it just abruptly stops… suddenly, no more ideas, no more stories… totally deserted like a ghost town… empty… lonely… and, scary!
If I go back to those ‘ghost town’ moments, I can see that they appear on either one of two cases:
Or,
What is common between those two cases is that in both the emotions are so strong that they overwhelm my whole life and take over my thinking… Positive or negative emotions alike!
When I am happy and fulfilled, life is so good I just live and flow with the days… the awareness of little things, of the very moment that we live in gets lost in the process… Sometimes happy moments make us forget our true life mission and meaning… Enjoying our happiness is a must of course… nothing is wrong with that. But letting those moments pass us by without savouring our blessings, without feeling the gratitude, inspiration, lessons and wisdoms within them is not how it was meant to be.
The same goes for challenging and stressful moments… sometimes our suffering, pain or loss are so tough that we find ourselves immersed up to our ears and we let them suck away our joys… yes, there must be joys… there sure are… in everyday life… in every moment… it could be as little as a growing dandelion in the sidewalk crack or the smile of a child or the chippering of a bird… the Divine mercy is there all around us at all time and He sends us messages of relief and blessings everyday… We just need to be aware not to miss them…
This is the reminder of the timeless verse again: “So that you do not fall into despair over what has escaped you, nor over exult over what you have been given” (57:23)
We are not asked to supress our joy or avoid pleasures, nor are we expected to never experience sadness, frustration, anger or pain.
A balanced life lays in the middle ground between heedless indulgence and meaningless suffering… Neither is meant to stay forever… Both are lessons and trials… both are here to teach us something… both are here to help us grow.
Enjoy your blessings, experience pleasures, excitement and happiness and express your emotions of sadness, fear or grief. We are human after all… All we need to remember here is AWARENESS! This is the key to a creative mind… Live fully, savor everyday and every moment, keep your Big Picture, your ‘Why?’ always in sight…
But, how? How do we restore those moments of awareness, those moments of mindfulness and inspiration?
The answer is inside you…
Slow down
Press the pause button
Breathe
& Listen…
Your heart knows the answer… it will tell you if you only LISTEN!
“I used to be a very creative person" she said, "my mind would storm with 100s of ideas, pictures and stories all the time… When I read a book, watch a movie or attend a seminar, I got so inspired and generated so many ideas, things to do, blogs to write, music to compose… Where did all this go? My mind feels so empty now… why don’t I get those inspiring thoughts any longer?”
I knew exactly what she was talking about… my mind works exactly the same… a highly creative mind that doesn’t seem to rest… it keeps generating more and more and even more… that is until it just abruptly stops… suddenly, no more ideas, no more stories… totally deserted like a ghost town… empty… lonely… and, scary!
If I go back to those ‘ghost town’ moments, I can see that they appear on either one of two cases:
- My life is going so well, I am happy, fulfilled, everything is going just fine;
Or,
- I am facing a life-devastating challenge, illness, loss, failure, grief or pain.
What is common between those two cases is that in both the emotions are so strong that they overwhelm my whole life and take over my thinking… Positive or negative emotions alike!
When I am happy and fulfilled, life is so good I just live and flow with the days… the awareness of little things, of the very moment that we live in gets lost in the process… Sometimes happy moments make us forget our true life mission and meaning… Enjoying our happiness is a must of course… nothing is wrong with that. But letting those moments pass us by without savouring our blessings, without feeling the gratitude, inspiration, lessons and wisdoms within them is not how it was meant to be.
The same goes for challenging and stressful moments… sometimes our suffering, pain or loss are so tough that we find ourselves immersed up to our ears and we let them suck away our joys… yes, there must be joys… there sure are… in everyday life… in every moment… it could be as little as a growing dandelion in the sidewalk crack or the smile of a child or the chippering of a bird… the Divine mercy is there all around us at all time and He sends us messages of relief and blessings everyday… We just need to be aware not to miss them…
This is the reminder of the timeless verse again: “So that you do not fall into despair over what has escaped you, nor over exult over what you have been given” (57:23)
We are not asked to supress our joy or avoid pleasures, nor are we expected to never experience sadness, frustration, anger or pain.
A balanced life lays in the middle ground between heedless indulgence and meaningless suffering… Neither is meant to stay forever… Both are lessons and trials… both are here to teach us something… both are here to help us grow.
Enjoy your blessings, experience pleasures, excitement and happiness and express your emotions of sadness, fear or grief. We are human after all… All we need to remember here is AWARENESS! This is the key to a creative mind… Live fully, savor everyday and every moment, keep your Big Picture, your ‘Why?’ always in sight…
But, how? How do we restore those moments of awareness, those moments of mindfulness and inspiration?
The answer is inside you…
Slow down
Press the pause button
Breathe
& Listen…
Your heart knows the answer… it will tell you if you only LISTEN!
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