“Will transformation. O be ravenous for the fire
in which a thing boastful with change forever eludes you;
that designing Spirit which plots earth’s flourishes, —
it loves most in the figure’s élan the moment of turning.
What shackles itself in survival already is rigidity;
does it feel itself safe in the shelter of nondescript gray?
Beware, from afar the hardest is warning the hard.
And woe–: an absent hammer is lifting!
Whoever pours forth as wellspring, Recognition greets;
and she guides him enthralled through the serene Creation
that often ends with beginning and in ending begins.
Every happy space through which they walk marveling
is child or grandchild of Separation. And the transformed Daphne,
feeling so laurel-like, wants you to change into wind.”
RM Rilke: Sonnets to Orpheus, Part II, 12
+ W. Blake: The Ancient of Days setting a Compass to the Earth (1794)
coming into right relationship with action
I must create a system, or be enslaved by another man’s. I will not reason and compare; my business is to create.
(W. Blake)
It is all our business to create. Observing is more comfortable, and can feel more safe. But sensing and using one’s own true agency is the one empowering, liberating human experience.
It can be surprising to realize that we have a choice in moments when we have been told – or have told ourselves – otherwise. Habit can cause constriction without us realizing. We are on a slippery slope of letting things slide, until we decide that it’s time to stop.
The power of the individual cannot be understated.
It’s important to remember this as outside reality seems ever-present, ever-powerfully directing the way of the play.
As below, so above: Even tiny acts of creation have the power to shift the world.
You don’t have to wait for tomorrow, Monday, or New Year’s Day to start implementing the changes you are seeking right now. The tension you may be feeling around the old and yearning for the new or different can be palpable to your environment, the people in your life. Give yourself permission to change whatever needs changing in this very moment. Bonus points for intentionality, simplicity, sustainability of that change.
To practice today:
Say the little magical word “No.”
Don’t add anything after it (like “I’m sorry” or “because..”).
Take a breath.
Watch what happens.