It’s amazing what a little space can do. For instance, going from ‘nowhere’ to ‘now here’ is just a matter of pressing the spacebar 1 time, yet a whole new reality arises as you go from ‘nowhere’ to ‘now here’. Let’s zoom in on that. ‘Nowhere’ is defined as: Not anywhere. To no place or result. As in: “This road leads to nowhere”, what sounds kind of negative? ‘Now here’ on the other hand can be defined as: At this moment, in this place. It’s not judging in any way, it simply states that at this moment, you are in this place. That’s much more positive since being in a place means you are somewhere, instead of nowhere. Also, nowhere seems externally orientated: you’re looking around finding yourself nowhere. Whereas ‘now here’ is more internally orientated: you turn to yourself as the starting point of everything with all options open. So in life, whenever you find yourself in a situation you’d rather not be in, see if you can find a spacebar. Press it and a new reality is created.
Johann Sebastian Bach is one of the worlds greatest composers of all time. He’s certainly my favorite classical hero. Regarded as the master of harmony and counterpoint, Bach excelled not only as a composer, but also as an organist, violist and harpsichordist. About making music he said: “It’s easy to play any musical instrument: all you have to do is touch the right key at the right time and the instrument will play itself”. I really like looking at things that way. Making anything complicated simple. Like: “It’s easy to run a 100 meters in 9.58 seconds: all you have to do is run really fast”. The Chinese philosopher Confucius said: “Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated”. So, here’s a nice ‘simple’ tune from Bach, perfect for a sunday morning. Played on piano by Francesco Tristano, Filmed at Théâtre de l’Atelier, Paris. More Blogotheque? Click here.
I think we can all relate to this situation: You’re up and about, living your life, minding your own business and all of a sudden… you meet someone else and you experience something that makes you think: the grass is always greener on the other side. In other words: I’m good, but that other person really has got it all together. That’s a normal response I guess, as we all want to feel like we’re on top of things. But the funny thing is (and this really is funny) it’s most likely that the other person feels the exact same (but opposite) way. He or she thinks you got it all mapped out, crystal clear. Yeah, people envy each other. Even about the smallest things. That’s what they do. I know I do. Until the moment I realize, that everything outside of myself (the way I experience things, the way I judge things etc.) is a reflection of myself. It’s me creating that image. It’s about me (focussing on my own imperfection) and not about that other person (being really perfect). So whenever I’m in a situation like this, I stick to myself and think: the grass is always green. There’s no need to pick sides.
This short film takes you from planet earth through our atmosphere and the inky black of space to the afterglow of the Big Bang. Every star, planet, and quasar seen in the film is possible because of the world’s most complete four-dimensional map of the universe. Sit back, relax and be amazed. Warning: you may feel a little small afterwards, but seen from the bright side; so are your problems!
Being succesfull or a failure, far away or closeby, having lots of opportunities or no chance at all: it all depends on your perspective. Change your perspective and your world will change. To discover what your perspective is on something, simply ask yourself: do I feel good or bad? To change your perspective simply challenge yourself by asking: why? Why do I feel the way I do? Do I really have to feel this way? Is the way I see it, the absolute and only truth? Or, are there any other options? It’s like a mind game, because you always have other options – the trick is to find them and to choose the option that meets your needs. In the midst of things this can be hard to do, but even the awareness of a possible other option, gives you space to breathe – in(side) and out(side) – a bit more calmly.
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.
Are you alive?
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?
Who am I… or rather, what am I?
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.
focusNjoy #122: Stop searching, start finding
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!
A fresh start for focusNjoy
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!
