September 8, 2007
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Inner and Outer Perception
My moments as a writer are very fleeting. That is, my moments of true clarity and insight are fleeting… and if I don’t capture them there and then, they vanish on the breeze… even something as trivial as needing to go to the bathroom will interrupt the flow. Phone calls kill everything.
Of course, I still “write,” but in a much more pedantic and workmanlike way… even though I’ve had what I perceive as “pedantic” described by others as “better than 99% of the population.” In the end, it’s my own perception that counts; that’s my frame of reference. And, to me, it feels flat and two-dimensional.
My inner struggles with writing usually revolve around finding balance between solitude and connection. My inspiration comes from connection, and from touching a myriad points of energy– people, ideas, thoughts, feelings, events… but the insights about them only flow in solitude. When I sit alone, in retreat, and think “Wow, now I will have peace and quiet to write!” rarely does anything of value flow. I need some kind of transportation device that allows me to stand on a crowded street where the moment of insight occur… that instantly takes me to an empty space with a blank page, where I can feel 100% secure that nobody and nothing will interrupt the flow.
Yeah, I know. “Good luck!”
I suppose we all have different “sticking points” in our journeys. Blockages, if you will. In those contexts, our self-perception is typically quite different from “other-perception.” Most of the time, others are far more forgiving and accepting of us than we are of ourselves.
I am a “teacher” of sorts; I am seen as a “mentor” by a rather large (and growing) number of people. Some part of me shrinks from those terms, because I worry about people putting too much faith in someone (that would be me) who doesn’t really have any answers. On reflection, the only worthwhile thing I feel I can share is to encourage people to find their own answers, and to recognize that their unique answers come from within them… not from somewhere “out there.”
The first time I heard some variation on that theme, I thought it was the most trite and overused cliché on the planet. It just annoyed the *%$#(& out of me. I wanted answers and fixes. But the thing is… are are no people on “fine white chargers” who’ll bring us absolution and connection; nobody will come and serve us up a perfect life on a platter.
Perhaps the ultimate epiphany comes when we recognize… and truly embrace… the importance of thinking for ourselves. And then to step forward and be active agents in our own lives… because, after all, “life” is not a spectator sport.
Comments (14)
I struggle with the temptation to believe in easy fixes a lot. I keep thinking I’ll just get this or that done and then things will be fixed up for a while… but the river just keeps going lol
You help people more if you teach them how to seek their own answers. That’s the skill you’re sharing and as long as you’re honest about who you are, the labels don’t hurt anything. Labels are useful in a lot of ways as long as you don’t let them control the truth of who you are and what you’re doing.
Amen!
I believe that to know thyself is the best thing for all….then you know whereof you speak…
Love this post!!!! Oh, and writing is tough. I myself haven’t slowed down enough to write anything satisfactory for a long time but I am still compelled to keep writing. And so it goes.
well put!
I am a great believer in Ostrich Syndrome. It’s amazing what fixes itself if you bury your head in the sand and pretend it doesn’t exist
Seriously, I agree with you… life is definitely not a spectator sport.
I think the best teachers help others recognize something special in themselves, that maybe hidden just under the surface. So many times I’ve said to someone… “I wish you could see you as I see you.” You’ll be fine as teacher and mentor, Peter, just by being yourself!!!!
*hugs* ~Colleen
It is indeed a very worthwhile thing to encourage people to find their own answers.
responsibility. that’s all.
I agree, it all starts with yourself.
Having spent 30 years of my life being a mental health counselor, mentor and coach I know you do not change people you support their own inner journey. Judi
How lovely to know there are true mentors, the kind that know the only way to really help someone is to empower them with gentle guidance to find the answer within, rather than telling someone what they need to ‘do,’ and thereby taking away their power. As someone in the midst of both a divorce and a career change, so many offer their ‘help’ about what I should do, that I have nearly lost touch with my own inner guide, buried beneath a lot of rubble. Oh, how to excavate? ~Sonja
What would I do without you? You’re a best friend. A teacher, indeed.
Kiss the ocean for me! I am missing it alot since moving back to AZ…(I like your ‘autobiography’ on the left side)
That’s my motto for a very long time…Life is not a spectator sport…good blog, gets one thinking…’Til The Next
well…you need a good balance between doing and reflecting. life is a spectator sport at times. this is what writers do. how are you doing my friend?