A person arrived in heaven and the the angels gave them the tour. They saw all the beauty of the afterlife and were thrilled to be there. When they arrived back at the entrance, the new arrival pointed to a non-descript door off to the side and said, ‘Can I go in there?’
Source unknown
The angels shook their heads sadly.
‘You don’t want to go in there.’
‘Why? What’s in there?’
The angels looked at each other.
‘all the things you never had the courage to ask for.’
I think I heard a version of this story on a Michael Meade podcast but I can’t find the source. I’ve put my own spin on it. It’s a good story and Michael Meade is interesting. You should check his work out.
Do you know what you want?
Yesterday, I wrote a chapter on knowing what you want. I wrote from the perspective of an artist/writer/film maker/designer but it’s obviously useful for any one from any walk of life to consider. No one wants to get to the top of the ladder and find it’s leaning on the wrong wall. (click here for the Quote Investigator info on this quote.)
Knowing what we want isn’t a magic trick. We still have to do the work but even the most basic map is useful when we set off across an unknown landscape. Sure you can drive to Sydney via Cairns but you don’t have to. Mind you, some of us only realise we want to be in Cairns once we’re in Sydney but self-inquiry is always helpful.
Do you know where you want to go?
Tomorrow is another new moon and another opportunity to set some intentions. Astrologer Dr Michael Lennox tells us it’s the perfect time to set in motion some real action. You might have written down some resolutions on January 1 but the new moon in Capricorn is all about considering the small steps, the daily actions you can take to get where you want to be in months and even years. As Jill Wintersteen says in the Yoga Journal says, ‘We change over small increments of time through focus and commitment.’
Now’s the time to ask for what you want, consider what you’ve been denying yourself and what you’re prepared to do to get it. That sounds really mercenary, but the dream won’t work unless you do and work without direction can be soul destroying.
I sometimes waste moments wondering about what could have been if I’d been more serious about my art as a young woman, if I’d continued journaling in 1997 when I started, if I’d spent less time in the support and sales roles and more time on my own work. Serious Cinderella vibes here.
Oprah assures us Nothing is Wasted, so I snap out of the pity party pretty quickly and remember all I’ve learned over the years. I remind myself to take my art more seriously now, to write my Morning Pages each day even if I don’t particularly want to, and remain in service to the community even while I change the way I give and be more mindful of how I spend my time.
Procrastination is a form of self-harm. It robs you of both time and focus. It comes in many forms and it usually rears it’s ugly head when you’re not sure what you want, where you want to go and gulp…yes, whether or not you deserve it…
Do you know what you deserve?
Sometimes we say no to ourselves. We put barriers in our own way. The past gets us down. My favourite self-flagellation comes in the form of ‘If I could do it, wouldn’t I have already?’ Do what? What is it? What am I doing? Until six years ago writing was a thing I might do one day, now it’s basically my raison d’etre. (I’d say don’t tell my family but I think they already know.) Occasionally I wonder why this and why now, but never entertain the thought long enough to give it away.
No one is making you a map. No one is going to do the work for you, unless you pay them and few people will remind you of your worth, (although I am part of a pretty amazing writing community and we do remind each other regularly. See, all that helping comes back around.)
I know it doesn’t help to know what you don’t want, but I certainly don’t want to arrive in the afterlife with anything left behind that door. Now is the time. Know what you want. Know where you want to go. Remind yourself you deserve it and, in the words of art writer Jerry Saltz, get to work!
