Tag Archives: wisdom

The Risk to Bloom

“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” ~ Anaïs Nin

Roadblocks we encounter out in the world are meant to protect us. But, what about the roadblocks we create for ourselves? We build barriers to keep at bay what is too scary to explore.

It’s important to analyze new situations and evaluate the pros and cons. However, sometimes logic is our enemy. Even while it is telling us “No”, deep within our intuition is screaming, “Yes, yes, yes!” Those are cues for us to let go and venture down that unknown road.

What is life for, really? Adventure, learning, expansion, and growth, they are all begging for you to step up to the plate.

“Although the road is never ending, take a step and keep walking, do not look fearfully into the distance… On this path let the heart be your guide for the body is hesitant and full of fear.” (Rumi)

Susan L Hart 2022 / HartInspirations.com

Agape, Love for Humanity

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Love is the force that draws us inexorably together, the glue that will not allow us to give up on each other. It is our greatest challenge and biggest source of miracles. Infinite love already exists in everything that is alive, including you and me. Our love lessons are about removing the obstacles to love. They teach us out how to access, express, and live it. That is, if we choose to learn.

This can sometimes feel difficult in a world that is expressing so much dissension and “un-love”, but each of us is a potential key to healing humanity. Fear, anger, and prejudice – we employ a myriad of padlocks to hold our love hostage. Every experience around love is an opportunity for self-examination, and for us to grow.

Do you realize? Your love gives you immense personal power to change the world. The mass media news is too often rife with division, hate, and fear. Some people just wait and hope for an external power or institution to cure the big problems of the world, because the events feel too big and out of their control. They will have a very long wait.

Consider that perhaps the high tension in the world right now is a challenge to each of us to work on unlocking our love. Together we could collectively unleash a world of love that has never been seen before.

If we don’t care enough to personally get in the game, the world we desire will slip through our fingers like quicksand. It begins with each of us, with one random act of kindness, a single word of compassion, a step upward on the stairway of understanding.

It’s one bit of love at a time. It ripples outward and builds. It comes from you, and me, and anyone else who chooses to participate, instead of just complaining about how bad things are. It’s what the ancient Greeks called “agape”, a selfless love for humanity, and the world sorely needs more of it.

Adopt a global consciousness. Choose to be a living example of love, compassion, and understanding. Work to bridge the divides you encounter. As Gandhi said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.”

That which you give to the world, you ultimately give to yourself.

Susan L Hart 2022 / HartInspirations.com

Van Gogh & Our Potentiality

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This past week I was very fortunate to visit an immersive exhibit of Vincent Van Gogh’s art. Being already a big Van Gogh fan, and so therefore knowing something of his history and work, mostly I was curious about how anyone could compress the infinite experience of “Van Gogh” into limited time and space. For Van Gogh is not just bigger than life because he became famous, and he did not become famous simply at the whim of some influential art dealer who could persuade his clients to open their wallets.

In actual fact, Van Gogh despaired that anyone would see or appreciate what he was trying to say to the world, and he died poor and believing that no one ever would. What was he trying to say to you and I? For my part, I see a message that life is big, precious, beautiful, and yes, sometimes tragic, but when we see the challenges and despair of others, we develop compassion, we become a more integral part of humanity.

Part of the exhibit was a 1/2-hour movie display of his works in an immense room, as his paintings undulated and merged in and out, coming to life as they projected onto all four walls, the color and life also spilling down and outward onto the floor and the viewers. The objective was clearly to bring the viewers inside the art, so that they could perhaps more easily feel it and become part of it. I wondered as I watched the delighted viewers, no doubt some of them experiencing Van Gogh for the first time, what they were feeling? If I could come up with one word that would encapsulate the experience, what might that be?

The word CREATIVITY came to mind. Creativity is the very essence of who we are as humans, and we may not be able to quite put it into words, but we FEEL it. Deep down we know it as a certain truth. We ARE creative, part of a mysterious creative force, and endowed with our own creative power through our minds and hearts to manifest a better (but not yet imagined) world. There is great joy in feeling the power of that, and it showed on the faces of the viewers.

Here’s the other part of that thought. Is it possible that Van Gogh’s immersive exhibits are so hugely popular right now because we know at a deep level, but not yet fully admitting it to ourselves, that there is a force at work of late that is trying to destroy our creative power? Van Gogh’s work is not just simply an antidote in troubled times, but rather it is a view of what is possible, our POTENTIAL.

I would say that is true, but it is for you to decide. I see the juxtaposition of the world they want for us, the ones who make the rules and use coercion and force to “create it”. They project a cold future of transhumanism, where we will have completely lost the warmth, love, connectedness, and most importantly the full creative potential of who we are. They are trying to convince us that we are defective, when nothing could be farther from the truth.

So my final question to you is this: What kind of world do you want to see in your future, and for the future of all children who will inherit this planet? For my part, I’m on the side of Van Gogh.

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Susan L Hart 2022 / HartInspirations.com

Fabrications

The World You Create

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As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. This is the divine mystery supreme. A wonderful thing it is and the source of our happiness. We need not wait to see what others do.” ~ Mahatma Ghandi

Are You Waiting for Change?

It’s so simple really, and yet we persist in believing that other people or institutions are going to change our circumstances for us. We see this tendency when people are looking for life partners. They get swept up in those initial love feelings, and they believe that the other person is going to “complete them” for a lifetime. Divorce statistics say that this sort of thinking is faulty. When we adhere to that philosophy we cheat ourselves from our own soul work and growth. We should be striving to complete ourselves.

It is not someone else’s job to complete us, nor should we be waiting for external forces to change the world for us. Yes, we elect our government officials, and we should be able to have faith in the fact that they will work for our good. Unfortunately, currently we live in a world where we’re feeling increasingly betrayed by the officials we elect.

It’s time to change our thinking towards how we’ll contribute to and make the world a good place. It is so very fundamental. You cannot receive that which you yourself are not willing to give.

You desire more kindness in the world? Be kind.
You desire more love? Be loving.
I could go on with more examples, but you get the idea.

We Must Each be the Change

We build a world around us that is of our own vision and making. That’s not just at a micro level of our immediate surroundings. These behaviors ripple outward. Other people learn from us by example, then together we build a better world. We should also expect from our leaders what we are working to build for ourselves. Otherwise, why should we keep them around?

So now I ask you, what kind of world will you personally choose to build today? Whether you believe it or not, the fate of the world rests in your own hands.

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Susan L Hart 2022 / HartInspirations.com