18 May The Fountain of Life
IT’S FIVE in the morning; I live for this time of day. Outside it’s dark and cool, unsullied by the rays of the sun. I listen to the sound of the birds. They speak with the voice of the earth.
I listen and I write with no rigidity or hesitation.
The page of my notebook is a canvas, mercurial in its ability to adapt and become anything I imagine. The only boundaries are the depths of my mind. A new day approaches — a page in the book of our lives to explore.
I’m inspired; I can do no harm.
Our everyday life is a constant cycle of energy. Inspiration is attainable at any moment our hearts are open.
The philosopher and Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius didn’t write his Meditations, expecting them to be published.
He wrote — every day — to better understand the depths of his spirit.
Life is a fountain that flows from within ourselves,
he writes.
If we want it to continue to flow and don't fight it, it will.
That cycle ceases when we’re living in fear or worries, when we’re living for others, when we know we aren’t true to our authentic selves.
To be alive is never to break that cycle of existence. When we do, the spirit inside of us fades.
Inspiration does not come like a bolt, nor is it kinetic, energetic striving, but it comes to us slowly and quietly all the time,
Brenda Ueland writes in If You Want To Write: a Book about Art, Independence and Spirit.
We must regularly and every day give it a chance to start flowing.
Ueland was a prolific writer and teacher of the early 20th-century. She dedicated herself to helping others unearth their novel perspective of the world.
It didn’t matter who her students were — she believed everybody possesses an individual voice that deserves to be appreciated — not by others, but by ourselves.
Each day in whatever capacity, we must release the essence of our spirit.
We’re all artists, as art is anything that comes from within. Art is the peace we seek from the sound of a rushing river; it’s the words from our heart that must be said; it’s the drive of an athlete who feels possessed.
The artist creates when something moves them enough to take that inspiration and bring it into the realm of the tangible. Without action, our ideas remain only that — ideas.
Only we know what takes place in our soul, the world is waiting for us to shine our light. Our dreams don’t realize themselves; we must fight for them.
It can be disheartening to begin our journey because our dreams seem so unobtainable. However, when we focus on what is in front of us at this very moment and are grateful for what we can do right now — the heavens will open — we will find our way.
We change every day, and the truth of today may differ from what we believed yesterday. We mustn’t be afraid to take action now. Ueland writes:
The true self is always in motion - like music, a river of life, changing, moving, failing, suffering, learning, shining. You must freely and recklessly make new mistakes - in writing or life - and do not dwell on them but move on and write more.
When we aren’t shut off, the force of the world roars through us. I listen to the waves crash in the distance; I listen to them as I listen to my heartbeat. Each crash is a breath from the earth, telling us of its existence — the light is on its way.
The ocean is the heart of the planet. When I’m swept away by the green, crystalline waves, I feel the courage of the ocean rush through me. The salt air fills me with life, I know my place.
It’s here, joyful and cold — yet, full of being.
Like our spirit, the waves ebb and flow tirelessly and pound on the land. The coarse sand softens further and further, a blurred line on the brink of existence. It’s the universe giving us the energy to live.
Originally published on Medium.com
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