“It’s Never too Late to Begin Again” -Julia Cameron

“…You have not grown old, and it is not too late
to dive into your increasing depths
where life calmly gives out its own secret.”

– Rainer Maria Rilke,
Das Stundenbauch

We can all awaken from the trance of our daily lives at any time and give expression to our soul, finding new but hidden aspects of our humanness. We can bring into awareness some banished aspects of the Self—the playful friend, the creator, the judge, the magician, the ruler, the seeker, the lover…

Growth: Accidental or by design

I sometimes find myself longing for the freedom to just runaway and be myself, as if I couldn’t do that right where I am. I want to linger with neighbors in the yard. I want to make something frivolous with my own hands, a self-expressive act that charms only me: plant new flowerpots, decorate an old piece of furniture with lively colorful designs, learn sand painting and how to bake macaroons. Of course this longing is usually “out there” somewhere lying fallow, well beyond the reach of my everyday calendar of events.

Recently while resisting the call of the next mind numbing game of spider solitaire and forcing myself to sit with the longing for a creative moment I realized that in each instant, whatever I choose to do to fill the time between the seconds, I am fully engaged in the creative act of sculpting my Self. I define myself by how I chose to invest my time.

Inertia

An object at rest tends to stay at rest while an object in motion tends to stay in motion. (Sir Isaac Newton in Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica)

I am a close acquaintance with inertia—that innate force of matter to preserve its present state, whether it be at rest or moving. It’s easy to become stuck in time, to surround ones self with the clutter of familiar routine and memorabilia of what was, while in the trance of daily life.

Principles of physics tell us that if you want to overcome inertia you have to apply another force. There must be a force that will initiate movement in something that is still or a force that will provide resistance to slow or stop something that is already moving. A force of these sorts could happen randomly, like getting struck by lightening, but a force can also be applied with intention.

Intention

Setting our intention is possibly the most powerful force we have to override the inertia inflicting personal growth. When we set an intention it sets the compass of our heart and psyche. Having intention makes obstacles become surmountable because you know where you are going, whether it is in business, a relationship, a love affair, a creative activity, or in the work of the heart.

I am setting my intention to open myself to the adventure of diving into personal longings, right here, right now, and into sculpting myself from the inside out—leaving a few open spaces for something new to emerge.