“When it comes to the human soul, the real battle is the struggle to truly become oneself. Not the self that others might want us to be, not even the self that we might wish to be; but the deep self and inner soul trying to awaken at critical crossroads in each life.”
Michael Meade
“Love one another, but make not a bond of love: Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls”
Kahlil Gibran
“Let the refining and improving of your own life keep you so busy that you have little time to criticize others.”
H. Jackson Brown Jr.
an illustration in the diary in the cloud to remember today in the future. My son spent hours playing with jars and water, fully immersed in his own wonderland. We chose to leave his play unstructured, allowing his imagination to run free. The alchemist : ). I tried to copy the same scene to have this illustration.
Every one of us have difficulties we go through. Only you and I know how it means for each of us. The more you accept that difficulty is inevitable and get familiar with that reality, the less it will shake you when it strikes. Embracing the darkness prepares you, so it doesn’t feel so scary after stretches of peaceful light. If you understand why challenges serve a bigger purpose in God’s plan, it becomes easier to make the best of whatever get thrown your way. You stay grounded and reflect on the reason behind it, rather than just falling apart. Constant sunshine gets you used to smooth sailing. The first storm catches you totally off guard, unprepared for how to navigate hard knocks. But if you’ve already stared down dark clouds and rough seas many times before, you know the drill for weathering the storm. I’m not praising adversity out of some negative, pessimistic view. I’m doing it to develop the resilience and understanding needed so those hard tumbles don’t keep flattening us. Writing and pondering about adversity builds mental muscles for pushing through it. The more we exercise that mind strength, the less threatened we’ll feel when the heavy stuff weighs down again. We’re preparing, not dwelling.
No matter how much we study sciences, philosophies, or histories, it’s the never-ending questions from a child’s mouth that humble us most. Their innocent, relentless inquiry lays bare how little we truly understand about existence. The most learned academics can meticulously map the cosmos, codify all knowledge into volumes, and hypothesize theology’s deepest meanings. But then a tiny human barely out of the womb will ask a startlingly profound “Why?” that stumps us all over again. In that moment, the veneer of assured, encyclopedic understanding shatters. We’re reminded that for every nagging existential mystery we’ve dissected and catalogued, a dozen more inscrutable conundrums await under each new layer peeled. An unapologetic child simply won’t accept “because I said so” as an answer. They demand to know the reason behind every reason in a way that strips our egotistical overconfidence bare. Their stubborn pursuit of fundamental truth across every “Why?” humbles the most zealously certain mind. To a child, our vaunted mastery of subjects is still hopelessly inadequate – mere fragmentary pieces muddling the big picture. Their endless curiosity exposes how much of life remains cloaked in humbling unknown no matter our credentials. The biggest questions burn from the smallest lips. And it’s their blunt, relentless need to know more that viscerally underscores just how much further we have to go.
There is something special about artists who don’t show much emotion on the outside, but then put huge amounts of deep feeling into their art. It’s like they bottle up all that emotion inside, concentrate it down into its most powerful form, and then finally let it explode out through their painting, music, writing, or whatever art they create. These types of artists seem very calm and almost emotionless on a daily basis. To people who don’t know them well, they might even come across as cold or detached. But really, there is a huge storm of emotion raging inside them that they are keeping tightly contained. When these artists finally release all that pent-up feeling into their creative work, it hits the audience with incredible force – precisely because there were no obvious outward signs that it was coming. The pure, undiluted power of the emotion they have been holding back suddenly bursts forth in full intensity. This makes the art feel more like a profound shared experience than just a painting, song, etc. It taps into something universal about the depth of human emotion and feeling. The audience is able to connect with that primal emotional core because the artist channels it so purely.
Have you ever felt stuck in a situation, like you’re pushing on a door that stubbornly refuses to budge? Maybe it’s a relationship, a job, or even a dream you have, that just doesn’t seem to be panning out. It’s frustrating, right? We pour our energy in, hoping things will change, but sometimes, the only change that comes is the feeling of exhaustion. Here’s the thing – sometimes, those closed doors are actually signs from a higher power, a gentle nudge in a different direction. It can be hard to see in the moment, like trying to decipher a cryptic message. But maybe, just maybe, there’s a reason things aren’t working out the way we planned. Think of it like hiking in the mountains. You reach a fork in the path, and the map you have seems outdated. One path looks familiar, well-trodden, but the other is overgrown and shrouded in mist. It’s tempting to stick to the known way, even if it feels like a dead end. But what if the hidden path, with all its unknowns, leads to a breathtaking vista we never could have imagined? Trusting the signs, even the confusing ones, can be scary. But sometimes, the most beautiful journeys begin with a little detour. Here’s the truth – we can’t always understand the grand plan, the life path particularly woven for us in the most elaborate detail. But we can trust the Weaver, the one who sees the whole picture. Letting go of something that isn’t working, even if it hurts, can be an act of faith. It’s a way of saying, “I trust that something better is out there, even if I can’t see it yet.” And guess what? The universe, or a higher power, whatever you believe in, rarely disappoints those who trust. The pain of letting go might linger for a while, but with time and a little faith, those broken pieces can heal, and a new path, filled with possibility, can unfold. When you feel stuck, take a deep breath and listen to the whispers of your intuition. Maybe that closed door is a sign, a gentle nudge towards a brighter future waiting just beyond the bend.
In our times of instant gratification and on-demand everything, the virtue of patience can feel like an antiquated relic. We expect fast shipping, immediate responses, quick career advancement and expedient solutions to all our problems. Any delay or hindrance is often met with restlessness, frustration and agitation.
Yet patience may be one of the most vital spiritual nutrients we are collectively starved of. For like the gradual unfolding of a rose blossom or a tree growing from a seed over decades, so many of life’s most magnificent blossomings require us to surrender to a coddle of unhurried unfoldings. When we demand that everything happen according to our predetermined timelines and expectations, we cut ourselves off from the resplendent mysteries that can only unveil themselves through the magic of waiting. The germinating seeds of our souls’ deepest growths, our creative genius works, and our most profound realizations about life all gestate according to a natural timing far beyond our singular will’s insistencies.
Like master artists, we must learn to steward the unhurried refinement inherent in each process. Raw effort and willfull striving alone cannot force open the sublime choreographies. This is the great alchemical art – to act while simultaneously remaining attuned to the inexorable pacing of a larger unfolding intelligence.Rather than slipping into resignation or inertia however, patience is an active, highly cultivated state of radical openness and present herenow awareness. It is the ability to fully embody and drink in each eternal moment without grasping to prematurely arrive at some future point of fixation. A serenely sustained beingness where our full participation is allowed to blend and merge with the ineffable unravelings always underway.
From this spacious ground, we gain an organic instinct for when to apply gentle effort and care, and when to simply pause, let go and let be. We begin flowing in symbiotic rhythmic attunement with life’s tidal pulsations rather than working against their oceanic currents. This is the patience cultivated by mountain sages and ancient groves of trees – where one becomes deeply at home harboring the poetry of a universe ceaselessly rebirthing itself through us, never growing restless or cynical about the gradual pace. For they know that the greatest masterworks, be they forms of inspiring humanity or awe-inspiring nature, all gestate through an unrhetorical release, slowly unfurling with inevitable grace when the season is finally ripe. With this mindset, we’ll be at peace with many of the uncertainties we face. Often calibrating such an inner compass has been of help. I hope it helps you as well. Always think about the broad picture, friends.