It feels as if I’m struggling to accomplish two divergent goals simultaneously.  There is a strong pull towards the spiritual life, a desire to awaken into the heart of truth.  Then I worry that attaining this state of being will overpower my desire to write.

Then I read these words in a book by Natalie Gold entitled Writing Down The Bones:

“Katagiri Roshi has said that when a spiritual person stands in front of a great art masterpiece, she feels peaceful. When an artist sees a masterpiece, it urges her on to create another one. An artist exudes vitality; a spiritual person exudes peace. But, says Katagiri, behind the peace of the spiritual person is tremendous liveliness and spontaneity, which is action in the moment. And an artist, though she expresses vitality, must behind it touch down on quiet peace; otherwise, the artist will burn out.”

Suddenly I understand how the peace of spirituality and the active energy of living fully are complementary.  Now I understand how I can sit for hours absorbed in my writing and still feel actively involved in life.  Is taking a journey within my mind less worthwhile than a walk in the countryside?  When a reader is able to envision themselves on that same path while sitting quietly in a comfortable chair a real human connection is made.

Writing and reading are not detached from an active life.  Natalie tells us that writing can be a form of meditation, of immersing ourselves in the depths of our inner being.  I agree completely, though before reading her book I had not considered how losing myself to the creative workings of an active imagination could also be immensely therapeutic.

Life is meant to be lived.  To do so only on an externally active basis is to touch only the surface of life.  A deeper meaning will only be found when we step away from the external and embrace the silence calling to us from a space within the heart of our being.

We are not alive because we move and breathe.  We are truly alive when we feel the movement within our heart.  We are not as we appear.  We are that which we allow to sink into the depths of our self.  We share our truth as we allow ourselves to express the feelings that hide in the shadows of our soul.

As Madonna wisely counseled, express yourself.