That Moment of Moving Forward

[Image via Arachide]

That moment of moving forward could be a hard one, a very hard one
At that moment we see the good that has to be left behind
Sometimes the issue isn't leaving it all behind
Sometimes the issue is the attachments we make
With the good and the bad
The progressive makes no attachment
The progressive knows he's on a journey
Life would move on
Time would flow like oil from the widow's jar
Its us that choose to stop
Its us that choose to get stuck at times
That moment of moving forward comes with very hard decisions
For me its leaving the good behind, the beautiful I have crafted with my hands.
The songs I have spent hours to write and stories I have had sleepless night to tell well
One thing
One thing we must remember; to build a monument out of the mountains we  have climbed brings us back to the valley we have been to pick up some  building blocks.
We must build altars and move on
That moment of moving forward
What really helps us move forward and leave all behind is when we know that for the beautiful we have crafted, we are only vessels 

P.S. - For all writers, artists and anyone involved in creative processes, whether we hear the loudest clap or accolade after that we just made, the truth remains: The best is still yet to come. Would you let the fear of 'would it ever be this loud again' hold you back?

How We Really Know Those Who Don't Really Know

[Image by Ben Olsem]

Just a thought. . .


I've been thinking about what it means to know and if I'm not sure about a number of things, I'm sure of this: to know is to be able to help somone to know too.


Now I'm not playing with words but seriously I have had my share of teachers who appear before the class and flaunt their knowledge and experiences. Instead of making the theories and ideas easier so that the students can learn, they bring forward a more bigger  and more complex version so we can be awed. In the end I never learn a thing or rather the only thing I get to learn is how 'good' they are.We must be reminded that the knowledge we really have isn't the one that is flaunted, the knowledge we really have is that which is deep seated in us working it self out as wisdom for others to see in our lives.


The test that we really know is if we are able to explain a particular concept to someone who hasn't heard of it in such a simple way that they understand. That's the point.


I am a christian, and there's always this temptation to make the simple truth of what Jesus has done for every human more complex to those who haven't heard a thing about it . These days I'm learning to ask myself  "Do you really know?"


Cause When I can't make the complex theologies I hear on the pulpit on Sundays understandable to my colleauges on monday. . . I don't really know


When I can't make people around me see how Faith is relevant to the daily activities of life . . .  I don't really know.


When I hide behind big words and spiritual cliches to make it look to others that yes I too make use of a good bible dictionary and concordance. . . I don't really know


This is a call for everyone of us to resist the temptation to hide behind big words and theologies just as a bad professor hides behind vague theorems and formulas. The test that we really know is that we are able to help another know that which we say we know. In what subtle ways have you been hiding? Do you really Know?

The Danger We Seek When We Ignore The Small Things

I saw the picture above some days back and I was wowed at the catastrophe a comma could avert. Most times we are told in our world the big things make the heads turn but we are always not reminded that it's the small things that keeps the heads in place. Some little things people neglect end up costing them a lot. For example, one that readily comes to mind is dilligently taking care of our bodies and our minds so we don't end up on the doctor's bed.

What little things are you neglecting today? Have you taken time to look beyond now to see what it might cost you? Has making a little or small insignificant decision ever 'saved your life' before? I would love to hear from you  and do have a great week ahead :)

Dear Artist, One Is A Seed

 

Image Via Pinterest

You've got to love what you've got

We can't multiply, produce or re-create if we do not love what's in our hands

Five talents for he that has got it

Two for he that has been given it

And you who's got one never try burying it in anger

When we diligently love the little in our hands, our eyes open up to the seed of the plenty that has been placed in it

Are you a creator, artist or writer afraid to offer that you've been given?

You think it really doesn't matter so you hide it somewhere far deep down in your heart from the world and you

What's been given to you matters, if it didn't it wouldn't have been given

We must learn to appreciate the seed in our hands dilligently

No matter how small, no matter how 'negligible'

In doing that we are opening up to others the harvest God has given us to share

Little will be much if you appear daily in the sowing season

Much will be plenty if you keep showing up in and out of seasons

Little will be reduced to nothing if you wait for a fruit before you plant a seed

There's a promise of much in every little

But we must remember

One is a seed

Question of the day: What lures people to bury or hide their giftings and talents? Have you ever felt any of these pressures in your own unique expression? I would love to read your comments :)

Cassie

[Image by Alexey05]

In the end, we got news she stopped at the city before this

The last who saw her said she was raising her hands to a fast disco song at the city bar

Dancing, jumping, laughing and screaming 'this is where i belong'

I shook my head in sadness when I heard of Cassie cause I knew that wasn't her place

But a thought stopped my head from motion

Cassie is us

And sometimes we are Cassie

Stopping at the first ray of hope in a dark desert

Don't ever give up on your dreams

If God has shown you a golden city

Never settle for one because it's shining lights remind you of gold

Don't ever give up on your dreams

Its fulfillment is the long awaited answer to another's desperate prayer

Press on, don't settle, Let God answer a prayer through you

 

We are still waiting for Cassie

And yes we need her

She has the unique answer to a question we all long for to be to be answered

If you see Cassie tell her she ain't there yet

If you see Cassie tell her to pick up her bags

If you see Cassie tell her to leave the disco floor and continue her journey

If you see you tell you we are waiting

We are waiting for that song only you can sing

We are waiting for that book only you can write

We are waiting for that word only you can say

We waiting for that scientific world problem only you can solve

So pack your bags and leave the disco floor

And please please please if you see Cassie, tell YOU we are waiting

P.S. - for all the 'Cassie's who raise their hands to a disco song at a bar that is not for them to dance. Don't settle there. We are waiting for you.

 

"To all the secret writers, late-night painters, would-be singers, lapsed and scared artists of every stripe, dig out your paintbrush, or your flute, or your dancing shoes. Pull out your camera or your computer or your pottery wheel. Today, tonight, after the kids are in bed or when your homework is done, or instead of one more video game or magazine, create something, anything.

Pick up a needle and thread, and stitch together something particular and honest and beautiful, because we need it. I need it.

Thank you, and keep going."

— Shauna Niequist (Cold Tangerines: Celebrating the Extraordinary Nature of Everyday Life)

"Everything God made is waiting with excitement for God to show his children's glory completely" - Romans 8:19 (New Century Version)



10 Ways Pain Can Help Us Tell Story Better

  [ Image by mrfelix ]

 Pain is 'painful' and mostly not desired but a lot of people are always affected one way or the other by it and creators of art aren't always left out. And some say that a creator ( a writer especially) has more to create when the person has experienced  a lot of pain. Most have heard this and gone ahead to create out of pain and leave long pages bitter and sweet music sour. How can pain help us tell story better? I have been thinking about this and this are helpful findings I think worth sharing

1. We learn from pain; we don't let it damage us
We show our scars; we should never try to ignore them. We must find  and realize the beautiful tattoo in our scars before the world can see the beauty in them.

2. We must remember skin is a covering; the main bone of contention is what our circumstance has done to our souls, and an ever shining hope; the soul can heal if we learn to surrender

3. We must be convinced that the events in our story aren't random. Like Cinderella becoming an orphan, she would one day become a princess. Like Snow White falling into a deep sleep, she would one day be awaken by a beautiful kiss.

4. We must embrace the uniqueness of every story including our personal story. This would ease the error of comparing ourselves. There are comedies, action flicks, family dramas,adventures and horror motion pictures. Every one of these isn't appreciated by everyone. And life would be boring if we only had only one.

5. Stories are sometimes like unborn babies. Never force out a story prematurely. It might leave a wound on you if told in the wrong time. Glean from it. Learn wisdom from your past foolishness. In it time, you will be able to tell it with enough boldness and poise.

6. Somehow people always sense pain if it by any means shows up on the page. When a story is due to be told somehow pain doesn't appear on the page. A joy of transformation is what appears on the page. And people are always more in awe of the joy than the pain.

7. Your pain in it's raw form does no one good.

8. Never let pain let you loose the appreciation of the uniqueness of story. Because the experience was like that for you does not mean everyone has it like that.

9. See it as a phase. Holding on to pain as a writer or story teller might just give your story a monotony you don't wish for. Leave the door open for the blessings and joys that would come. That's why its called life after all. Stay open!

10. One thing that would steal the lessons and the treasures you have gained in your season of pain is cynicism. Never let pain harden your heart ( when it does, the art becomes heartless; very not flexible ) but let it soften and purify it.

"I can be changed by what happens to me. But I refuse to be reduced by it" - Maya Angelou

". . .[I will] give them bouquets of roses instead of ashes, Messages of joy instead of news of doom. . . " - Isaiah 61:3 (The Message)

Stepping Out:

11. (The Bonus) : Sometimes healing takes time. If you are in a season of pain don't see it as a pause on life. Move close to those who love and appreciate you. Celebrate! Yes, you read that right, celebrate. Turn up the music you love, read books you have longed to read, feed the 'hungry' around you, extend a hand to the hurting around you. Choose a day to pray (consistently) for those going through the same situation you are going through. Curl up into bed on most nights and freeze the moments that stole your breathe away during the day by penning down the words. Find your rooting and take time to discover the real 'you'.  You'll Be OK. One day you would look back and cherish the words you wrote down during this season. You would cherish the person you have become through this cause and you'll be Be OK. It's just a phase and you must choose to not let it faze the happy ending of  your story :)

Are you a writer, singer, artist, story teller or a creator of art of any kind. In what ways have pain helped you tell story or create art better? I would love to hear from you.