Love this painting. Almost feel as if it echoes the inside of my mind on a daily basis.
There are times we sit and think, and get nowhere. Other times our introspection stokes our inner fireplace and we become inspired. Love those times.
I see the spiral staircase up into the dark unknown – encouraging us to expand our consciousness to realize new ideas and concepts unknown before, of which all exist just outside the window of our self-imposed limits of the mind.
Making sense of things, of our purpose – our passions and our deepest ideals take time to develop. Like the philosopher, we would all be wise to sit and simply think about where we are in life – where we want to go – and how to go about doing it with the most prized possession: a life full of a life fulfilled.
Desperation vs. Inspiration
It seems we get things done in life in one of two ways – out of desperation, or out of inspiration.
Desperation? Getting it done because of a deadline or showing up to work because we literally can’t afford to miss a day. Staying up all night to cram for an exam because we didn’t study enough the three months before – or turning in a less than stellar work because of the same reason.
At desperations worst? Stealing, lying, cheating and any other temptation that would arise out of attempting to protect ourselves from others realizing that we are indeed, less than stellar.
Inspiration? It’s this invisible force that actually maintains a positive outlook on everything we are doing – even if we don’t like doing it.
Showing up at work ready to dominate and deliver more than your boss could ever expect.
Turning in only the work we are proud to have our name upon. Knowing we gave every last ounce of our abilities to every project we are assigned.
Setting aside an hour a night months before our final exam to get ready for it, living within our means, focusing on improving our weaknesses – the list could go on and on.
Notice something about these ‘inspirational’ techniques? They all involve actively doing something to improve our condition. They involve taking a step back from living life on ‘auto-pilot’ and not being aware of our present mindset, thought patterns and inclinations towards following the rest of the world towards a life satisfied with mediocrity.
They all take extraordinary effort from the human being. But with extraordinary effort, comes extraordinary results (another Robin Sharma quote).
We can succeed out of desperation – and indeed at some points our desperation INSPIRES us to complete a task at hand. But it’s done with negative stress, consistent negative self-talk, and always with the pressure of the world on our shoulders.
The point is that life is lived with much more peace, love and fulfillment when we are inspired to be our best – not desperate to avoid the worst.
Being our best in playing in that grove on a day to day basis. Appreciating what we have and what we’ve been through and countering our challenges (and challengers) with a determination and perseverance to become something great.
Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
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