Thursday, October 27, 2005

What were you born to do?

Abraham Harold Maslow described self-actualization as a person's need to be and do that which the person was "born to do." What were you born to do?

What is your vocation in life, your calling, your destiny?

"A musician must make music, an artist must paint, and a poet must write." - Abraham Harold Maslow

Life is precious, what makes yours worth living?

How do you express who you are? What is your voice?

Is your life authentic, or are you living a lie?

How aware are you of your inner self, the essence of your being? How clearly can you hear your authentic inner voice? Or is your inner dialogue a negative script that is automatically replayed endlessly?

"If you hear a voice within you say "you cannot paint," then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced." - Vincent Van Gogh

How conscious are you of your own inner nature? Are your choices and decisions alighned with your nature?

Before you answer this, you need to know who you are and where you want to go. What is your vision?

Find your passion. This is the fuel that will propel you towards your worthy ideal. Where there is passion, enthusiasm, inspiration and motivation follows.

“Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Enthusiasm originated from the Greek word enthousiasmos, which comes from the adjective entheos, meaning “having the god within”. Enthusiasm is inspiration from God, Source.

So how can we be enthusiastic? Start by rediscovering your passion. Then, follow Dale Carnegie's advice, “Act enthusiastic and you become enthusiastic”.

“No one keeps his enthusiasm automaticalty. Enthusiasm must be nourished with new actions, new aspirations, new efforts, new vision.” - Papyrus

“A man can succeed at almost anything for which he has unlimited
enthusiasm.” - Charles M. Schwab

“If you are not getting as much from life as you want to, then examine the state of your enthusiasm.” - Norman Vincent Peale

Inspiration arise from within. The word inspire is derived from the Latin inspirare which literally means to breath life into another. It is a breath of life, an impulse or energy that carry us into a state of flow. A driving force inside of us that cannot be stopped. It is a reconnection with our source of life.

To be inspired is to be infused with life. To inspire is to recognise, respect and create meaningful opportunities for others to express their unique essence.

Motivation come from without. It is of an external source. Motivation was derived from the Latin word, motivus, which means a moving cause”. It is not the cause of movement but movement itself. Motivation starts with action. We do not wait for motivation to appear before taking action. We choose to take action toward worthy goals and that creates motivation. Positive results further energizes and directs our attention towards the pursuit of our goals. It is our desires and purpose that promts our action. Motivation is the process of directing our energies towards the derivation of desired benefits.

Peak experiences are simply moments of love, understanding, or happiness, in which a person feels more whole, alive, and a part of the universe. In harmony, synch and in the flow. When you are doing the work which you were born to do, you will have many such peak experiences.

"Don't die with your music still inside you." - Dr Wayne Dyer

What if you choose to transcend your conditioning and go beyond possibilities?

There are times when we wanted to disappear and hide away from the world. To be invisible rather than give other people any opportunitity to notice our mundane existance. This desire usually happens when we are feeling disappointed, hurt, angry, or simply weary of life.

We may do all sorts of things to make ourselves invisible and pretend that no one sees us. But all we did was to bury our own heads in the sand.

When we live our life inconspicuously, we shrinking from our responsibility to share our a unique gifts and talents with the world. We are not contributing our inner brilliance that is meant to illuminate the Universe. We not only deprive ourselves of the greatness that we deserve, but we also deprive the people around us of the unique expression our vision and voice brings to their life.

We are all beings of light and we are here to light the way for each other. When we open up and be vulnerable, we allow ourselves to shine and we give others the permission to shine. We become an example in whom others can begin to see their own brilliance. One day, they too will express their vision and voice. They too will reveal their brilliance and allow their inner essence to shine through. They too will be beacon of light for their community.

"Namaste" is a Sanskrit word that acknowledges the inestimable value of each individual. It is used to greet and honor others. "Namaste" means "As I acknowledge and honor the Spirit within myself, so do I acknowledge and honor the Spirit within you."

The extended meaning of the word has been written as:

"I honor the place in you in which the entire universe dwells.
I honor the place in you which is love,
of truth,
of light, and
of peace.
When you are in that place in you, and
I am in that place in me,
we are one."

--
Namaste,
@lex Chua

"The road is long, my heart will go on" - Mark Lee

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