Hello friends and welcome to a new week. It’s monday morning, to some inspirational, exciting and new. To others the start of 5 days of boredom, stress or insecurity. Whatever your situation is, keep one thing in mind: nothing is impossible. So start dreaming and if you already have a dream, start making that dream a reality. If you need a kick start to get you excited, read this, this and this post.
This is my 100th post! To celebrate, here’s a colorful picture, reflecting waves of love. An energy, so subtle and clear. And if you can tap in on it, it will prove to be an unbreakable and everlasting force, always there to carry you. So here’s to the waves of love, may you find them in your life, so you can ride them, smiling.
This film is about a lonely desk toy, who longs for escape from the dark confines of the office. So, one night he decides to take a cross country road trip to the Pacific Coast in the only way he can – using a toy car and Google Maps Street View. I think we can all relate to this in the sense that every now and then we all have the desire to break free from something. And every now and then we all long for something that is beyond our reach. So, lets be inspired by the power of creativity that ultimately gets this toy to where he wants to be. Or in the words of Albert Einstein: “Logic will take you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere”. You can read more about that in this post.
Here’s a beautiful and inspirational film called ‘The Great Bell Chant (The End of Suffering)’. Watching it had a soothing effect on me. As if it was a gateway to a higher state of consciousness, where the mind becomes calm and the body relaxed. I hope it has the same effect on you. Enjoy.
Walt Disney is an inspiration to me. And I don’t mean Walt Disney the billion dollar entertainment company. I mean Walt Disney the guy, the man, the person. The first thing Wikipedia says about him is: Walter “Walt” Elias Disney (1901-1966) was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. I mean… that’s quite an impressive list of qualities right? Why do you think the list is so long? It’s because what he wanted, was never done before. It was considered impossible so he had to try, invent, create and do many things by himself first. And in doing so, he literally turned the impossible into fun for millions to enjoy. He lived by his own creed: “If you can dream it, you can do it.” Or as he later said about his – by then very successful – company: “Always remember that this whole thing was started with a dream and a mouse.” How about that. A dream and a mouse. So, what’s your dream?
Like a rocket is not meant to stay on the ground, your dreams are not meant to be ignored. Whatever they are, big or small, something you want in the far away future or next week, going after your dreams ignites your passion for life. It makes you feel inspired and you’ll inspire others. So gear up, gain momentum, start counting down and have lift off. Don’t let the thought of gravity pulling you back again scare you off. Don’t dream about your dreams, go after them.
People are vulnerable as individuals and as a species. And fighting vulnerability is useless. No matter how hard you try. Simply because you can’t control everything and so your life can turn upside down at any moment of any day. You may be the King of the World, the Smartest Woman in the Universe or the Sexiest Man Alive; it won’t help. You can however hide from it. And most of us do. Behind a fancy job title, nice car or house. Interesting friends, a busy agenda, designer clothes or healthy hipster life style, but sooner or later vulnerability will find you. So what can you do? Well, it’s simple.
Simply face it and embrace it. Because when you embrace it, you no longer need to fight it. You no longer need to run or hide from it, by keeping up appearances and putting energy in this hopeless attempt to avoid the discomfort of feeling it. You can now be as you are, vulnerable, instead of pretending not to be. The way I see it: vulnerability is indestructible. So by letting it in and become a part of you, in a way that makes you indestructible. Daring to be vulnerable gives you power to be.
From time to time it’s good to ask yourself: “Am I alive?” Because it’s not uncommon to just be busy doing what you’re always doing. To be caught up in a routine. And that routine may very well result in hours, days, weeks, months or even years of living, without actually being alive. Because there’s more to living, than just breathing. Imagine someone in a coma and it becomes clear… I recently attended a re-birthing workshop and I experienced the difference between A) normal breathing: a mostly shallow, kind of mechanic and unconscious way of getting the bare minimum of oxygen ‘shots’ and B) breathing with full awareness, in a rich flow, organic and fully open to receive life’s energy in all it’s splendor. It let me experience the meaning of the phrase: “Just because you breathe, doesn’t mean you’re alive”. And so I challenge you, as I challenge myself, to wonder: am I really alive or mostly just busy breathing?
I guess you’re familiar with this sensation: one moment you feel great, and the next… well not so great. I sometimes feel like I’m nothing and sometimes I feel as though I’m everything. It’s a really fine line, much like it is with being crazy or brilliant. John Lennon had a nice way of putting it. He said: “Part of me suspects I’m a loser. The other part of me thinks I’m God Almighty”. I wrote a post about that one too. Anyway. A couple of days ago, I stumbled upon the “I, a universe of atoms…” quote by the American physicist Richard P. Feynman (1918 – 1988). And it’s stuck in my head ever since. Because to me his words are both mind blowing and heart warming. The thought of “I” being a tiny, stand alone atom – and an infinite, whole universe at the same time, blows my ego off it’s socks. Because “I” isn’t (only) the ‘earthly me’. “I” is a single atom and an entire universe, completing one another. Think about that when you’re looking at yourself in the mirror. So yes, it’s a quote I gratefully meditate on. It’s so simple and yet so deeply profound. It makes me feel humble and larger than life at the same time – it’s liberating. Look at us humans. Look at you, look at me. We are both nothing and everything. Again. That’s just… wow.
Imagine you’re looking for something, but you can’t find it. Annoying. Yes. Very. But then, maybe you’re not supposed to find it. Or maybe you’re just looking in the wrong place. Or maybe… you already found it, but you don’t realize it yet. Whatever the reason is, you might want to stop searching. Why? Well think about it: as long as you’re busy searching – you’re not… finding!
Dear friends, it’s been more than a year since my last post! Honestly, I needed the break but a lot of good things have happened to me in the meantime. Apart from a great time at Eyeworks Netherlands, where I worked as a Senior Creative with some great people at the Program Development Team, it were exciting times for me personally as well. Too much to tell you in one post. But I will share more in the coming months, because it’s been truly transformational.
I’m planning on a brand new start of focusNjoy at the end of April. And this time, I intend to actually make some money haha – because running an ad-free blog is great, but from a financial point of view it wasn’t a success and one of the reasons for me to get back to television. Later in 2014 I intend to finally start with my workshops in Amsterdam. I’m super excited about that but let’s see how things develop. Anway – I’m back and I’m feeling fresh. Hoping to hear from you – always feel free to send me an email and say hi!
Love, Stijn.
