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Motion
Bodies were made to be in motion. Motion is creation, so if you move, you start the chain of creation. To move is like mechanics, but more as in the spiritual level. Spirit is not quiet and stuck in a place – Spirit moves around and while moving around it creates.
A body in motion invites Spirit because blood flows; blood is life – life is energy – energy is the fuel for Spirit. Got it?
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One of the areas that we seem to neglect the most is having a good night sleep. One of the biggest culprits – chores, TV, PC, and all our favorite shows and movies. It is truly hard to dedicate the proper amount of hours to sleeping. However, I have found that when I go to bed earlier, I am more productive the next day and my mind seems more clear. For me, eight hours seems to be the perfect amount, others need more, others less.
Sleeping well makes me less grouchy and it actually helps my writing. I can write more in less amount of time, and it also helps my inspiration – ideas flow more fluently. I recommend sleeping as a tool for better writing – it does sound funny, but true, at least in my case.
When I feel less tired and more refreshed/awake the tone set for the day is totally different and I can carry out many things that have been put aside for lack of energy or “time.” Somehow, suddenly there is time for more …
Give it a try, and see if it helps your writing and your day, overall.
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Many writers and artists endure long hours of solitude working in their craft. Social contact is limited for many. Making a living writing requires long hours at the computer, whether you are a best-selling author or a novice freelance writer.
Some has introvert personalities, and that suits them well; others, love any time that they can get socializing among people. For writers especially, people provide a source of inspiration and interesting material to include in their work. Many times, it presents opportunities that will open other exciting doors in their career. Inspiration can come in many ways, people come in many sizes, personalities, race, nationality, and cultures – a huge amount of inspiration.
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I used to get frantic trying to do everything at once. Worried to the point of becoming stressed, even about the things I could not control. It took me a while to realize that there is “time for everything under the sun.” I had read that many times, but never grasped the deep significance the phrase had.
We go nuts multitasking and running around trying to get everything done. In the end, we feel burned out and unhappy, the colors of life lose their brightness, and there is no music to our day – just the hurried stomps of our feet as we run like robots without a cause.
It took me a while to realize that small steps everyday accomplish a lot. Sometimes, even the best antidote against procrastination. Small steps everyday take you closer to your dreams and goals, and let you feel and see some progress. Today, I don’t run with the pack, I take small steps, but surely, and everyday – I am happier that way.
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What would happen if we allowed ourselves to just be? To do as we genuinely felt and not as we tought we would look better in front of others? What would happen if we acted by true care as opposed to having to care? I think we would be happier, and only give the best of us to others by just being.
Being genuine to yourself entails being true to others as well as your own self. It is applying the golden rule. Many times, we covet the ideal lives of others – the successes that we view as perfect lives – without realizing that the only way that we can meet a fullness of life is if we just be.
When we embrace ourselves, our creativity, our spirituality, and our physical state of being, along with our lives, we are in the path of becoming what we are to become – of being as real as we can be – of fulfilling our purpose as human and spiritual beings.
When we write, many times we worry about rules, about sounding like our favorite best-selling author, or about setting writing goals according to somebody else’s standards. However, we forget one important thing, that life, goals, writings, and anything else that goes with it, will not mean anything if they are not centered and meant for the true self and its true purpose.
Just be and the rest will follow is a good way of approaching life, but in our way to letting the true self shine, we can strive to better each day by asking ourselves – Am I letting myself be?
We all have heard the popular phrase “till the cows come home,” referring to a long and indefinite period of time. “I will party till the cows come home” is a good example of it. However, what happens when the cows come home? And if they do, are we prepared to receive them? I have asked myself that question many times, and the answer is always the same – I’ll never know until I see them.
Preparing for life changes can be exciting, exhilarating, scary, and many other things; however, we won’t know until the cows come home. We continue with our plans of leaving Jersey and moving to the country. Although we are preparing for it, and are excited … we won’t know until the cows come home. For now, all we can do is wait for them, and prepare for their arrival. In a way, it is good that things happen a bit slow, it gives you time to appreciate the road, the roses, the thorns, and yes, it gives you time to wait for those cows.
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Many times we think that life is hard enough, specially when things are not going our way. In an “instant society,” we expect fast results and want things to take shape right away. In writing, it is the opposite, patience is a virtue, and the slow mode of speed seems to have two lower sub-modes. Many talented writers give up early, when they don’t see fast results proportional to the hard work they put in. It is discouraging; however, when you love what you do, you never know what hanging around just a little longer will bring.
Life is like that too, no matter what you happen to do, or be, if you want to beat the “instant expectations” and hang in there, just show up. Show up to life – show up to write every day, show up to be a parent, to be a doctor, a teacher, you … just show up to life and things will start taking shape.
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Have you ever read something and felt alive, inspired? Have you listen to music that has captured your soul, and touch every fiber of your heart? Read a poem or looked at a painting that transported you to unexplained heights? All these are examples of creations. We are human, but also spiritual, and the need to create is embedded in us; it is our spiritual nature. We give to others thru our creativity, we create to inspire, to please, to entertain, to love …
My spiritual path has been one of investigation and of finding the divine thru a non traditional approach. In order to find true spirituality, I had to put aside everything that I have learned about it, and start fresh, with the intention of finding my true spiritual path. It has not been easy, it still is not; I keep learning every day.
We all have a purpose, it is up to us to find it. However, there is creativity on each one of us. Divinely inspired I have learned that creation is like water, it gives life; it is the fountain of the spirit – the myrrh of the soul, the soul’s path to spiritual closeness. It is contentment and happiness for our souls, and we can find it by being happy where we are, by listening, and be perceptive to our spiritual awareness. When we feel happy where we are and we make happiness an internal issue, separate from outside circumstances, we are receptive to the divine and we fuel the creative forces within our soul. This is how we give to others and we bless our surroundings with our soul’s creations. By giving back we thank the Great Creator.
And how would a Creator see its creation? How do we feel when we create something that we are so proud of? In the eyes of God all his children are good, in the eyes of the man, the children are limited by the limits they establish themselves. To God, there are no limits, and his children are precious – more precious than the treasures of the Universe. When we give back through creation, we are acting thru the same love that made us.
Life has its ups and downs. Many times we run through life at fast speeds in our effort to get things done. After all, it is a society of doers, of achievers, and doing the opposite would attract some frowns and judging, right? Doing is good, but sometimes, our doing becomes robotic, lifeless, dutiful, and boring. We don’t enjoy the things we once did because they have turned into stale routine. We go through life as “zombie doers” without realizing that the magic has left our hands, and our hearts wish for excitement in our endeavors. However, maybe the magic is still there, and what happens is that we have stopped doing things lovingly.
Doing things with love and passion is in every one of us. It is up to us to enjoy each moment and dedicate attention to the task at hand – no matter how menial it seems to be. Washing dishes by hand can be transforming when you start feeling the soapy water, the fruity floral scent of the dishwashing liquid, and hear the squeaky sound of a clean dish. Somehow, this menial task becomes alive, engaging all your senses.
This is what doing things lovingly means – to enjoy the task at the moment, or to pay full attention to it, to be mindful for the duration of it, and to be thankful that you can do.
We all want to do our best – at home, at work, as friends, as mothers, as wives, as husbands … the desire is in our hearts. However, many times we accused ourselves of falling short – of falling short to perfection. We measure ourselves against ideals of perfection or super human-successful and charming role models that we create in our minds. When we think we are falling short we become discouraged and sad, sometimes angry, at ourselves and the entire world. What we don’t realize is that all we need to do is – to do our best one day at a time.
If we live by that motto, it would be hard to fall short of anything, we would be happier with ourselves, and with the world. Knowing that we did your best today, yesterday, and will do your best tomorrow, takes off the pressure that we put on ourselves.
Every person is unique and everyone’s best will be different and unique to that person as well. So don’t measure yourself to the “supermom’s best” or the ideal; instead, measure yourself to your own best.
Mediocrity is the opposite to doing your best – it stops half way, and stalls. Be your best _________ (fill the blank) one day at a time.
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