Thursday, December 3, 2009
Among the books I am currently reading (oh, for a larger bookshelf) is one titled "The Intimate Art of Writing Poetry" by Ottone M. Riccio. I came across a beautiful phrase in the book this morning that I want to share. In the paragraph he writes:
"There is, in our bodies and minds, movement - movement that will not cease while we live, for it is the movement of life, the rejuvenating dance. We are an arc from one stillness to the next, and it is in the arc that we find our dance. We are warned of darknesses inside us, of dangers we face if we dismiss the censors that keep the demons hidden. But there is also a song within us - jubilant, vibrant melody that holds our lives together. We must face inherent risks if we are to reveal the rhythm and song within us, if we are to transpose such basic compulsions into poems".
"There is, in our bodies and minds, movement - movement that will not cease while we live, for it is the movement of life, the rejuvenating dance. We are an arc from one stillness to the next, and it is in the arc that we find our dance. We are warned of darknesses inside us, of dangers we face if we dismiss the censors that keep the demons hidden. But there is also a song within us - jubilant, vibrant melody that holds our lives together. We must face inherent risks if we are to reveal the rhythm and song within us, if we are to transpose such basic compulsions into poems".
This beautiful work says to me that when we let go of our self-censorship and risk exposure of our deepest selves we begin to reveal the beauty of our unique song. Our fear of our darkness binds us, and yet the irony of this is that we are never as bad or as dark as we fear. When we own all aspects of ourselves, what we create can't help but be beautiful – whether it is a poem or a painting, or each day we live - because our creations become a reflection of our purest, highest selves, darkness and light as one.
We’re all alike, in our humanity. We all have fears about not being good enough, about not being what we ‘should’ be (alas, was there ever a more destructive word than ‘should’). For me, when I let go of the voice in my head that whispers "this isn't good enough”, or “who am I to be open about what I think”, etc… and all the other standard self-talk that defines my darkest fears about myself - when I let go and ignore this voice, and let my spirit speak and my words flow, I begin to create magic. This is who I want to be, and this is who I want to live as. This is the magic. Magic that is within each of us.
The thing that inspires me the most - the thought that keeps me striving to find ways to express myself more authentically, to be closer and truer to who I am in my core, is the belief that if we all found ways to let go of our fears and became what we thought possible for ourselves - what we know is possible for us in our quiet hearts - then the entire world would be elevated. The whole world would be changed. Because instead of shrinking ourselves down and living in relation to our fears, we would begin to live in response to our dreams – finding the dance and our movement - and truly, the accompanying magic and beauty and power for positive change this would bring makes me catch my breath in awe. This feels to me like a responsibly that I have, that each of us have – a responsibly that begins with finding the way into loving ourselves, and to continuing, each day, to move through our darkness and into our light. Moving into our song, into our movement. Into our exuberant lives.
posted by Jodi at
11:20 AM
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