(no subject)
Taken from the introduction to The Alchemist:
We all need to be aware of our personal calling. What is a personal calling? It is a blessing, it is the path for you while you walk this Earth. Whenever we do something that fills us with enthusiasm, we are following our legend. However, we don't all have the courage to confront our own dream.
Why?
There are four obstacles. First: we are told from childhood onward that everything we want to do is impossible. We grow up with this idea, and as the years accumulate, so too do the layers of prejudice, fear, and guilt. There comes a time when our personal calling is so deeply buried in our soul as to be invisible, but it's still there.
If we have the courage to disinter dream, we are then faced by the second obstacle: love. We know what we want to do, but are afraid of hurting those around us by abaondoning everything in order to pursue our dream. We do not realize that love is just a further impetus, not something that will prevent us from going forward. We do not realize that those who genuinely wish us well want us to be happy and are prepared to accompany us on that journey.
Once we have accepted that love is a stimulus, we come up against the third obstacle: fear of the defeats we will meet on the path. We who fight for our dream suffer far more. We want it and know that we have staked everything on it and that the path of the personal callng is no easier than any other path, except that our whole heart is in this journal. Then, we warriors of light must be prepared to have patience in difficult times and to know that Universe is conspiring in our favor, even though we may not understand how.
So, why is it so important to live our personal calling if we are only going to suffer more than other people?
Because, once we have overcome the defeats - and we always do - we are filled by a greater sense of euphoria and confidence. In the silence of our hearts, we know that we are proving ourselves worthy of the miracle of life. Each day, each hour, is part of the good fight.
Having disinterred our dream, having used the power of love to nurture it and spend many years living with the scars, we suddenly notice that what we always wanted is there, waiting for us. Then comes the fourth obstacle: the fear of realizing the dream for which we've fought all our lives. Oscar Wilde said: "Each man kills the thing he lives." And its true. The mere possibility of getting what we want fills the soul of the ordinary person with guilt. This is the most dangerous of the obstacles because it has a kind of saintly aura about it: renouncing joy and conquest. But if you believe yourself worthy o the thing you fought so hard to get, then you become an instrument, you help the Soul of the World, and you understand why you are here.
I reread this passage today after a rather caustic email from someone I had long considered a friend.
When it comes down to it......
My priority lies in touching people with music... Brightening their lives through creative expression and song.
And I do this.... Every single day of my life, in many different forms.
I have long wanted to have a license to do this on a professional level... A means of taking it beyond clubs and radio programs and concert halls, and into the lives of the people who need it the very, very most. Nobody can tell me I haven't done my fair share of touching people in this way. I would be rich if I had a dollar for everyone who has ever told me I have given them light through music.
When I made the decision to do this professionally, I had to give up a lot... I had to follow a completely different lifestyle.
There are many who have tried to dissuade me. Many who have told me that I'm being unreasonable to live like a pauper while I finish my undergrad, or who tell me that my career path is that of just a dreamer. Others try to tell me how they think I'd be better suited for something else, because it pays more, or because it carries more clout, or whatever. For them, I have always reminded myself of obstacle number 1.
Meanwhile, there are others who do not understand my absences. This holds particularly true for so very many members of what is known as the "goth" scene, though there are exceptions. There are a lot of people who translate my absence of a lack of priorities, or a product of some sort of drama. These couldn't be further from the truth. My absences come from the fact that I am following my personal calling. I have had to give up a lot to get where I want to be. Whenever someone is upset that I am not doing what they think I should be, I remind myself of obstacle number 2. Those who truly love me are still here accompanying me on my journey, and I love them all the more for remaining by my side wherever my path may lead me.
So.... Inevitably, there are relationships lost due to these obstacles. And here we have obstacle number 3. I cannot fear losses while I follow this path. Hurt while it might when someone breaks off their support, particularly when they say words out of anger, I have to remind myself that it is likely for the best. I am here on my personal path... If someone is not willing to help me along the way, then it probably is better for me that we get out of each others' way.
It will not be too much longer when I am faced with obstacle number 4. I'm looking forward to that last step before I can release myself from a lot of my shackles, and fly with what it is I've given up so much to achieve. Until then, I remain proud of how far I've come in the past few years.
We all need to be aware of our personal calling. What is a personal calling? It is a blessing, it is the path for you while you walk this Earth. Whenever we do something that fills us with enthusiasm, we are following our legend. However, we don't all have the courage to confront our own dream.
Why?
There are four obstacles. First: we are told from childhood onward that everything we want to do is impossible. We grow up with this idea, and as the years accumulate, so too do the layers of prejudice, fear, and guilt. There comes a time when our personal calling is so deeply buried in our soul as to be invisible, but it's still there.
If we have the courage to disinter dream, we are then faced by the second obstacle: love. We know what we want to do, but are afraid of hurting those around us by abaondoning everything in order to pursue our dream. We do not realize that love is just a further impetus, not something that will prevent us from going forward. We do not realize that those who genuinely wish us well want us to be happy and are prepared to accompany us on that journey.
Once we have accepted that love is a stimulus, we come up against the third obstacle: fear of the defeats we will meet on the path. We who fight for our dream suffer far more. We want it and know that we have staked everything on it and that the path of the personal callng is no easier than any other path, except that our whole heart is in this journal. Then, we warriors of light must be prepared to have patience in difficult times and to know that Universe is conspiring in our favor, even though we may not understand how.
So, why is it so important to live our personal calling if we are only going to suffer more than other people?
Because, once we have overcome the defeats - and we always do - we are filled by a greater sense of euphoria and confidence. In the silence of our hearts, we know that we are proving ourselves worthy of the miracle of life. Each day, each hour, is part of the good fight.
Having disinterred our dream, having used the power of love to nurture it and spend many years living with the scars, we suddenly notice that what we always wanted is there, waiting for us. Then comes the fourth obstacle: the fear of realizing the dream for which we've fought all our lives. Oscar Wilde said: "Each man kills the thing he lives." And its true. The mere possibility of getting what we want fills the soul of the ordinary person with guilt. This is the most dangerous of the obstacles because it has a kind of saintly aura about it: renouncing joy and conquest. But if you believe yourself worthy o the thing you fought so hard to get, then you become an instrument, you help the Soul of the World, and you understand why you are here.
I reread this passage today after a rather caustic email from someone I had long considered a friend.
When it comes down to it......
My priority lies in touching people with music... Brightening their lives through creative expression and song.
And I do this.... Every single day of my life, in many different forms.
I have long wanted to have a license to do this on a professional level... A means of taking it beyond clubs and radio programs and concert halls, and into the lives of the people who need it the very, very most. Nobody can tell me I haven't done my fair share of touching people in this way. I would be rich if I had a dollar for everyone who has ever told me I have given them light through music.
When I made the decision to do this professionally, I had to give up a lot... I had to follow a completely different lifestyle.
There are many who have tried to dissuade me. Many who have told me that I'm being unreasonable to live like a pauper while I finish my undergrad, or who tell me that my career path is that of just a dreamer. Others try to tell me how they think I'd be better suited for something else, because it pays more, or because it carries more clout, or whatever. For them, I have always reminded myself of obstacle number 1.
Meanwhile, there are others who do not understand my absences. This holds particularly true for so very many members of what is known as the "goth" scene, though there are exceptions. There are a lot of people who translate my absence of a lack of priorities, or a product of some sort of drama. These couldn't be further from the truth. My absences come from the fact that I am following my personal calling. I have had to give up a lot to get where I want to be. Whenever someone is upset that I am not doing what they think I should be, I remind myself of obstacle number 2. Those who truly love me are still here accompanying me on my journey, and I love them all the more for remaining by my side wherever my path may lead me.
So.... Inevitably, there are relationships lost due to these obstacles. And here we have obstacle number 3. I cannot fear losses while I follow this path. Hurt while it might when someone breaks off their support, particularly when they say words out of anger, I have to remind myself that it is likely for the best. I am here on my personal path... If someone is not willing to help me along the way, then it probably is better for me that we get out of each others' way.
It will not be too much longer when I am faced with obstacle number 4. I'm looking forward to that last step before I can release myself from a lot of my shackles, and fly with what it is I've given up so much to achieve. Until then, I remain proud of how far I've come in the past few years.