Live a Life of Possibility

 

... where we possess a greater capacity for “possibility thinking
Nicolas Sparks

 

I have sometimes limited my focus on my perspectives in life, and have often become caught up in a stream of events that I might not have anticipated.  If my decisions about how to behave in the world are not aligned to my aspirations, I will surely disappoint my vigilant intuitions.  Ultimately I reason that the mind is the charioteer of the will, the reflexive unconscious and gut, and the feelings of the heart that impels our behavior in the world.  But if we do not have a balance of these integral human motivating agencies, then we find ourselves beguiled and possibly left empty.  Precisely where we have a greater capacity for “possibility thinking” and achievement lies predominantly within the realm of the mind.  Those who do not stride forward with their life’s ambitions often have failed to sail toward a once planned venture.  They are rudderless, and follow a current that may lead them to unexpected courses in their voyages.

Plato's Charioteer
Plato’s Charioteer Tripartite Mind
1) Mind: Charioteer
2) White Noble Horse on Right: Spirit
3) Black Ugly Horse on Left: Appetites

 

Listening and acting on the advice from others and not acknowledging our own hearts may be a lifelong undertaking that leads us to misadventure.  When reaching for greener pastures, we ought not to overlook that which is right in front of us.  We become dissuaded and influenced by those around us, as we begin to doubt our own capabilities and ambitions which tend to slowly diffuse and disassemble as if they had never existed.  The passion once felt is shrouded deep within our former selves replaced by other transitional interests that cover the deeper longings of our hearts.  I have an affinity to what Henry David Thoreau set out to discover on his stay at Walden Pond.

Henry David Thoreau

 

“Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.”

― Henry David Thoreau, Civil Disobedience and Other Essays

American philosopher and naturalist Thoreau isolated himself at Walden Pond in Massachusetts from 1845 to 1847.  His experiences during that time are published in Walden (1854), which Thornton Wilder called “a manual of self-reliance.”  In a well-known passage, Thoreau stated his purpose: “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.  I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practice resignation…”  In the first essay, “Economy,” Thoreau comments that most men are slaves to their work and enslaved to those for whom they work.  He concludes: “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation….”

If we embrace our heart, activate our resolve and nourish the potential of our minds, we create a force that is so powerful, the world of possibility becomes exponentially larger.  But why do we not follow our “gut” feelings, and we delude our better judgements?  Much of this comes from listening to external sources, and all too often from our own voice of self-doubt.  We disband our goal to unify our lives with our passions by accident or by misdirection of an immersed ego caught up in a distraction filled world.

When we take a path with the least resistance, we may misplace our heart’s desires with a surrogate.  Our lives are tempered with contention that customarily helps us find a quintessence in contrast to the banalities met in a lifetime.  We must never allow ourselves to detach from possibility!  Fortuity can be a life renewing salvation or equitably a life saving virtue if we are cognizant of it.  The first step is taken when we recognize this dynamic in the equation.  First and foremost, we must be open for opportunity.  We must be receptive and keen to providential forces that dwell within our mortality.

But what creates possibility?  The most satisfying creation comes from our own doing even if it is initiated indirectly; such as the consequence of our own talents which may open opportune doors to us.  There exists possibilities that we are aware of, and those we are unaware of.  There exists possibilities that we may never actualize, and those that we may never appreciate because we are caught up in other distractions or have distorted the inner balance within our minds.

 

 ☥☥☥

 

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.

Steve Jobs

 

I’ve realized that I must aspire to create a cohesion between the mind and the feeling centers of my being.  I usually operate on an intellectual level better than the emotional level because it comes to me more easily.  Ironically I show great depth of empathy for others yet I fail to sometimes envision my own deeper feelings and emotive motivators that direct me.  In establishing a cohesion with all of these forces is the challenge to be reconciled.  This could be a daily routine, and with practice one can hope to achieve the balance necessary to bring about change in one’s life that aligns with a true self image.  I ask of myself only for patience and dedication, as the rest will take care of itself!  I say unto you live a life of possibility, and you will realize the intention you set out to do.

Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small. A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.
Lao Tzu

 

A Song in the Heart

Have you ever listened to the radio when a song you haven’t heard in some time begins to play, and you are suddenly brought back to a time when you formed very fond memories of those around you when the song was popular?  The years instantly peel away and you again get swept up in the emotional memories that flood you with every word sung as the melody takes you back transforming your mood.

I remember thinking back to times when I’ve met people in my life that made me notice them and galvanized me enough to remember them with warm heartfelt memories that always leave with me an affectionate smile.  We may have parted company many years ago, but they sometimes occupy my thoughts as they are still a part of me to this day.  It is precisely these people who I hold dear to me for they have imparted with me a bond that remains enduring due to the connection held.  The connection I speak about holds important elements that keep it memorable and are sometimes overlooked in many of our relationships.

For me they included ingredients of trust, empathy, respect, and another emotive quality I cannot really verbalize.  Perhaps it is a recognition in the other person that possibly shares a similar attribute that we have.  Or it is seeing them for who they truly are with appreciative eyes.  The connection does not always mean there was a romance involved, but that something else was factored into the bond when it was formed.  Maybe they entrusted you with something very personal that touched your heart and forever changed the way you looked at them.

One of my life’s passion’s was to play music, write and sing songs.  I am able to express myself on a deeper level than just by speech alone.  The music taps into something profound within all of us when we allow it to do so.  I have on occasion written songs for people who meant much to me.  The feelings I felt and the emotional connection I sustained drew upon the way I experienced the other person.  I found that the music always came first before the inspiration of the lyric developed because the music was the emotive architecture that arose from the heart.  Creating the sound scape was essential for me to craft something meaningful.  On occasion I would just write the music not yet having any lyrics written.  Sometimes I would just leave it as an instrumental.  I have tapes and tapes of old material I never fully developed.  A complete and well crafted song does sometimes include lyrics when there is a story behind the song to be told.

Prior to creating my music, I (as many others) have a soundtrack to life’s special moments.  These moments would usually occur by association, having certain songs bond to my memory, and of course having an affinity to the songs would touch me allowing for the deeper connection to occur.  Whether it be the music, the words, or whether it be both, these songs will forever imprint their charm upon my memory.  We love many songs, and appreciate the immense catalogs of music in our lives, but for me, there are few such examples of truly enchanting songs that are very close to my heart.  When you can again experience and touch the positive energy that is created from these happenings, you will find that these connective forces vibrate similar positive frequencies existing in the universe.  This may sound something disseminating from a new age philosophy, but it is in alignment to what the ancient mystics and Quantum Mechanics purport.  These disciplines have a different language to express their principles, but they have very similar semantic structures that are more alike than not.

When these songs are heard again, they can bring me back to an immediate experience that is both profound and nostalgic since they are bound to fond memories that again live in my mind.

DC

I ask the reader; what are the songs in your catalog that takes you to another place, brings you to another time, or replenished your soul with the joy in the memory of another person close to you or once close to you?  We can form these memories and bonds that take on a life of their own.  I believe we have an ability to make associations with people with kindred spirits, and I believe the ability to connect to this essence within them just may be responsible for our remarkable and curious closeness to them.  Songs can touch us in some very enigmatic ways for reasons that our logic cannot give any clear answers for.  But in the heart, there is no need to explain any reasoning, we just feel it, and that is all that is needed to calm our vexations.  It matters not to us because we are complete in the experience we receive when these feelings arise.  We are better for having them, as they lead us to some cherished moments from our bygone history.

A song in the heart can mend a thousand thoughts.  So I say to the reader, think on this…..No, I redact that…. let your heart sustain and maintain your being!

  The heart of the fool is in his tongue; the tongue of the prudent is in his heart.

 

Rumi

“Goodbyes are only for those who love with their eyes. Because for those who love with heart and soul there is no such thing as separation.”
Rumi
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

“Be still, sad heart! and cease repining;
Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;
Thy fate is the common fate of all,
Into each life some rain must fall”
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Ballads and Other Poems
Fyodor Dostoyevsky

“A fool with a heart and no sense is just as unhappy as a fool with sense and no heart.”
Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Idiot
Edith Hamilton

“The mind knows only what lies near the heart.”
Edith Hamilton, Mythology
Friedrich Nietzsche

“One ought to hold on to one’s heart; for if one lets it go, one soon loses control of the head too.”
Friedrich Nietzsche
Blaise Pascal

“The heart has its reasons which reason knows not.”
Blaise Pascal