Lessons from Hell (3): Bring Out That Which is Inside You. February 24, 2008
Posted by beholdthestars in Lessons from Hell, Life & Living, Motivation.Tags: depression, dreams, fulfillment, happiness
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If you bring out that which is inside you, that which is inside you will save you. If you do not bring out that which is inside you, that which is inside you will destroy you.
Jesus Christ, The Gospel of Thomas
Sometimes we’re drawn to particular quotations. We memorize them, write them down, and put them up on our refrigerator. These quotes articulate some conclusion or other we’ve already drawn from our experiences. For me, this is one of them. Religious aspects — like The Gospel of Thomas’ place in Christianity — aside, this quotation contains one piece of advice I’d gladly give my daughter.
We all know what we want. If we’re miserable, it’s because somewhere inside ourselves we’re comparing our reality with the internal model of who we wanted to be — and finding a mismatch. That mismatch causes us pain. How many times have we heard friends say wistfully, “I always wanted to get my degree,” or “I wanted to be a doctor/writer/entrepreneur/librarian/race car driver/whatever,” or “I always wanted to hike the Appalachian Trail.”?
Oddly enough, it’s not necessarily the lack of achievement of these dreams that causes us the most pain, it’s the fact that for a thousand reasons of our own, we didn’t go after them. These dreams are part of our personal magic, and the degree to which these dreams match our core being is the degree to which they’ll save us if we go after them, and the degree to which they’ll destroy us if we don’t.
Experience brings wisdom, and often, I used to think, wisdom come too late. In the last couple of years, though, I’ve learned that wisdom is wisdom, and is a blessing any time. Once I knew where my magic was, but foolishly chose to follow the “safe” path of convention and did what others my age were doing. As I came to realize my blunder, it seemed impossible to leave the path I’d begun. My magic seemed lost forever, and I began the slow spiral into the Dark Period. I know now that it’s never too late, and that our magic is always there to save us. We just have to reach for it.
My wish for you today is that you have the courage to bring out that which is inside you. It can change your life.
Make a great day.
Behold the Stars 
I love the phrase “personal magic”.
I like it too, and you’ll see it more in the blog. Times in my life when I had “magic” were times when my heart and soul were engaged in whatever was going on in my life, I was doing the things that mattered to me, and I was able to bring to the table my particular gifts. I was mixing the best of my abilities with the best of my spirit, and it created a power, a magic. I still seek to find that point where all those planets align.
Thanks, again, for your comments.