Unfinished Masterpiece In Progress...
Dealing With Disillusionment and the Fragments of Imperfection:
You, Me, & Everyone are unfinished, incomplete, masterpieces that may never be finished. The Venus de Milo is no less spectacular without arms, and other chucks missing. Having said that, whilst saying it is one thing, but in a world that bombards us with the illusions and delusions of perfection, it is very difficult to actually practice this acceptance on a daily basis, right? Know and think that you are enough the way you are now, and if you never evolve any further, you should be alright knowing this.
It is not as simple as thinking positively,
It is about allowing both the bad and the good thoughs
To surface and enter your mind, but the awareness to
Let the bad ones fall silent without power, is the key.
-Carmen Zavislake
Letting go of those old ideals, expectations, goals, and plans is like letting go of your dreams...but they have become anchors that hang around your neck and have gotten more and more heavy over the years. Remove the albatross that chokes the air from your being present in the now and re-evaluating what you need to do, want to do, dream of doing with your life. Dream a new dream and let the old ones go.
"Nurture your mind with great thoughts,
For you will never go any higher than you think".
-Benjamin Disraeli
Before anything else, the foundation must be there or else it crumbles in upon itself..and the foundation is: Self-Love and nurturing yourself first above all else, which can be harder than it sounds for those of us with self-destructive, self-sabotaging, self-loathing tendencies. Beyond the thoughs you allow power, there are the words you speak to others, when we are wounded, or frustrated, sometimes we take them out on those closest to us.
The words you speak become the house you live in.
-Hafiz
Never allow anger to flow outward, nor inward, but release it, pull it out of your mind, there are lots of ways to achieve this:
A detoxifying bath with Epsom Salts and baking powder
A nice pot of herbal dexotifying tea
A sauna, or sweatlodge
A floatation bath, (once called a Sensory Deprivation Chamber)
You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe,
Deserve your love and affection.
-Buddha
So, where do we begin? For me, it began when I came across a picture of a cracked pottery bowl visibly broken and then repaired with gold in the cracks!!! The Japanese call it "kintsukuroi" (noun): meaning "to repair with gold" in reference to the art of repairing pottery with gold and silver lacquer and understanding that the piece is more beautiful for having been broken.
Another good place to start is to let go of the traps inherint in using the words "perfect" or "happy" because they are both also illusions that we can never achieve. Realistically, we will never be truly happy or perfect, so the healthy thing to do is to achive JOYFULNESS however brief it may be, and embrace CONTENTMENT as your new goals.
Psychology Today has a helpful list of "The 50 Best Quotes on Self-Love", states that it all begins with our own perception of self-worth, and empathy also begins with practicing that on yourself first and foremost, by taming those negative venemous thoughts we spew at ourselves hundreds of times per day and may not realize it.
As we become more compassionate toward others, we need to show that toward ourselves, allow ourselves to be self-nurtured, self-loved, showing kindness and contentment within ourselves, which for me is a daily effort and struggle.
"Our bodies communicate to us clearly and specifically, if we are willing to listen to them." Shakti Gawain quote regarding the body, communication, and listening.
Here are some more great quotes from great minds like Louise Hay, Shatki Gawain, Buddha, and others to get you started:
"Self reliance is its aversion.
It loves not realities and creators, but names and customs...
Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind.
Absolve you to yourself, and you shall have the suffrage of the world".
-Ralph Waldo Emmerson, Self-Reliance (1841)
We are all like a wayward dog digging for a bone under the sand on an endless beach, it seems a daunting task to try and unbury our original, primal self that once knew no criticism, not harshness, no expectations nor pressures. We must trust and accept that our primal self will guide us in the true direction we are destined for, toward contentment and joyfulness. Trust your intincts!
Ralph Waldo Emmerson states: "The magnetism which all original action excerts is explained when we inquire the reason of self-trust. Who is the Trustee? What is the aboriginal Self, on which a universal reliance may be grounded? What is the nature and power of that science-baffling star, without parallax, without calculable elements, which shoots a ray of beauty even into trivial and impure actions, if the least mark of independence appear? The inquiry leads us to that source, at once the essence of genius, of virtue, and of life, which we call Spontaneity or Instinct. We denote this primary wisdom as Intuition, whilst all later teachings are tuitions. In that deep force, the last fact behind which analysis cannot go, all things find their common origin. For, the sense of being which in calm hours rises, we know not how, in the soul, is not diverse from things, from space, from light, from time, from man, but one with them, and proceeds obviously from the same source whence their life and being also proceed. We first share the life by which things exist, and afterwards see them as appearances in nature, and forget that we have shared their cause. Here is the fountain of action and of thought. Here are the lungs of that inspiration which giveth man wisdom, and which cannot be denied without impiety and atheism. We lie in the lap of immense intelligence, which makes us receivers of its truth and organs of its activity. When we discern justice, when we discern truth, we do nothing of ourselves, but allow a passage to its beams. If we ask whence this comes, if we seek to pry into the soul that causes, all philosophy is at fault. Its presence or its absence is all we can affirm." From: Self-Reliance (1841)
There is no right way, nor wrong way to exist, but what matters is the effort and awareness put fourth to ourselves and toward others. Be at peace instead of battling within yourself and this will dispell some of the negativity that manifests around you.
Be alright with the fact that you are incomplete because some of the most astounding, beautiful creations are never finished, like Michelangelo's Captives, or Prisoners, do not be bogged-down, or impeded in your evolutionary progress by yourself.
Mark Lindquist says about Michelangelo's incomplete incredible sculptures known as The Captives Series:
“There is something profoundly spiritual and self-referential about his idea. We are trapped in our own existence, and we wrestle with issues and ideologies which try to hold us captive." -Mark Lindquist
Do not be trapped, allow yourself to expand, flow, and grow!!!
Namaste,
Carmen Zavislake
BOOKS ON THE SUBJECT:
Johanna Kern's book "Master & The Green-Eyed Hope," and her blog: Chamber of the 7 Powers: http://thechamberof7powers.blogspot.ca/p/about-author-johanna-kern.html
"Write Your Own Pleasure Prescription: 60 Ways to Create Balance & Joy in Your Life" by Paul Pearsall.
Shakti Gawain's books "Return to the Garden: A Journey of Self-Discovery," "Living In the Light," "Meditations: Creative Visualization & Meditation Exercises to Enrich Your Life," and "The Voice of Intuition."
SOURCES:
Shatki Gawain quotes from Gaiam blog: http://blog.gaiam.com/quotes/authors/shakti-gawain
Mark Lindquist:
http://www.lindquiststudios.com/HISTORY-MARK/captive-series.htm
Ralph Waldo Emmerson's Self-Reliance essay (1841) still rings true today:
FOR FURTHER READING:
Louise Hay's You Can Heal Your Life website "12 Ways You Can Love Yourself Now":
http://www.healyourlife.com/12-ways-you-can-love-yourself-now
Deepak Chopra's Seven Spiritual Laws of Success:
http://bkc.name/wp-content/uploads/Deepak-Chopra-The-7-Laws-Of-Success.pdf
Psychology Today's "The 50 Best Quotes on Self-Love":
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-mindful-self-express/201210/the-50-best-quotes-self-love
