“Do you have the courage to bring forth the treasures that are hidden within you?” asks writer Elizabeth Gilbert. "[W]e are all walking repositories of buried treasure....The universe buries strange jewels deep within us all, and then stands back to see if we can find them."
The hunt to uncover those jewels is living creatively. The courage to go on that quest separates an enchanted existence from a mundane one.
Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) believed confronting difficulty is essential to a fulfilling life. In 1873 he wrote:
"Any human being who does not wish to be part of the masses need only stop making things easy for himself. Let him follow his conscience, which calls out to him: 'Be yourself!'"
"There is no way to help any soul attain...happiness...so long as it remains shackled with the chains of opinion and fear....How hopeless and meaningless life can become without such a liberation. There is no drearier, sorrier creature in nature than the man who has evaded his own genius."
As Picasso advised “to know what you’re going to draw, you have to begin drawing.” Nietzsche counsels:
"No one can build you the bridge on which you, and only you, must cross the river of life. There may be countless trails and bridges and demigods who would gladly carry you across, but only at the price of pawning and forgoing yourself. There is one path in the world that none can walk but you. Where does it lead? Don’t ask, walk!"
I hear ya, Freddie.
Such wisdom!! Thank you for this reminder because, for a very long time, confronting life meant only one thing for me. But having taken the steps needed to "be myself" in that respect, does not mean that there aren't other jewels to uncover. So off we go, taking that path that we alone can build to that future unknown.
ReplyDeleteGood for you! Yes it's easy to forget when we're battling one big difficulty that there are other treasures available to us. Glad to hear you're uncovering them. :)
Delete