The Fire Within
A short blog post about my thoughts on inspiration, & the fire within
We all have a fire within, that when burning brightly, makes us feel truly alive, passionate and eager to learn the lessons life makes available to us. At times, tough or emotionally taxing experiences can depress us or serve as fuel to the fire. Positively, or wisely, we can transform poison in to medicine or see problems as a springboard to greater wholeness as a human. Through such problems we call upon our inner resources of resilience, strength, tenacity, understanding, compassion (for self and others) and get to know ourselves better.
What about experiences that test us to our core, where we have to find new ground again to feel stable? Perhaps stability is not what is called for in these times, but instead an investigation in to who we are, for now, seeing as life may require us to unimaginably change our approach, mindset, goals and dreams. A period of searching can begin..
Socrates said, “the unexamined life is not worth living”. We need to say yes to new opportunities, change our career if we feel the urge and have the difficult conversations to open our hearts. Then we have plenty to reflect on.
As the year comes to a close, I think about the ceremonies shared with close friends, gathered around a fire, setting intentions, writing special, meaningful words down and then burning them for symbolic transformation. Emotions and baggage to release, newness and inspiration to invite in. It has been powerful, creating memories as well as feeling significant. Bringing a sense of ceremony to our “problems” transforms them in to part of the spiritual journey, viewed with a tender heart.
How wonderful we are contacting the deeper recesses of ourselves more and more, and bringing intentional living in to sharp focus. Who do you want to be? Who do you want to be around? What is true for you?
13th century Buddhist teacher Nichiren Daishonin said “regard your survival as wondrous” (The Strategy of the Lotus Sutra WND I: 139 : 1000). For me to feel like I can survive and thrive includes feeding the inner fire, so that I may feel I have shown up wholeheartedly. I don’t want to shy away from life, but to embrace it with open arms and an open heart. I’ll finish with a quote from Dr Brené Brown:
“Owning our story can be hard but not nearly as difficult as spending our lives running from it. Embracing our vulnerabilities is risky but not nearly as dangerous as giving up on love and belonging and joy—the experiences that make us the most vulnerable. Only when we are brave enough to explore the darkness will we discover the infinite power of our light” (Dr Brene Brown, Daring Greatly: How the Courage to be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead)
Thanks for reading
Claire
Blogs coming up:
- Friendship
- Boundaries
- Wholeheartedness