The title for this blog comes from the Gnostic Gospel of Thomas, which I found in the first few pages of Stephen Cope's The Great Work of Your Life who says:
"If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you; if you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you."
Doesn't that strike you as something we must follow? I appreciate everyone who comes to the page and checks out the site and for those of you who follow along on the blog. My consistency, or lack thereof, is a good example of not bringing forth what is within me. Time, effort, willingness to sit down and write a few words, etc. All good excuses I've used to not write anything.
A perfectionist's mind can sometimes trouble even the simplest of blog posts. Why does everything need to be perfect? Perhaps something as simple as this post is enough. To at least sit-down and bring forth what is within every once and a while.
I've recently sat down and started reading Stephen Mitchell's translation of the Bhagavad Gita and early on we read Krishna's comment to Arjuna about action as Arjuna is crippled with doubt about which path to take. Why take up arms against the enemy when the enemies are those who are close to us? But in those for lines, there is a small piece that says: "And do not be attached to inaction."
Do not be attached to inaction. Do not become comfortable with the fact that we haven't done something in a while and therefore it's easier to not do anything. Do not become attached to the idea that we haven't written a post in months and therefore don't have to write one now. That comfort is insidious. It's easy to forget where we were going and why. It's the path of least resistance to stop doing the things that are difficult and don't come naturally. And yet by doing so we are not bringing forth what is within us. We are waiting for the time when these things will build up and may ultimately destroy us in the form of regrets for things not done.
So if you are like me, and you've taken a break with something that you enjoy doing and know it's something you want to do, then here is your message to pick it up again. Your permission to take action. I need more reminders that I too must take action and write a few words. To allow the ideas to flow not just to myself but to others because perhaps there is someone out there reading this right now that is in the same boat and just needs a nudge.
If you enjoy the content or have enjoyed the content (I know it's sporadic and been a few months) then send me a note. I appreciate the conversation and those who are following along on Instagram.
コメント