Chipping Away

When I was a kid I wanted a rock chisel set I saw once at a toy store.  The box showed various “rocks” with all kinds of different statues already perfectly formed inside them.  Included in the set were a chisel and hammer to chip away the stone and reveal the figure.  Even though it wasn’t really sculpting, it seemed magical to me and I wanted it more than ever.

When I think about my present-day goals I think about that chisel set from long ago.  I see my goals as already existing, much like the statue inside the piece of rock.  As I continue to chip away the meaningless stuff on the outside I envision myself getting to the real substance on the inside.

The stuff on the outside is our vanity, our losses and failures and our insecurities about ourselves.  The stuff on the inside is magical, it’s our creativity and our inspiration.  Every single one of us has this magic inside of us.  When we are children we have great imagination and creativity.  Over time, through loss and pain, we lose sight of this.  But like that statue, it still exists inside of us.  We just have to find a way back to our authentic selves.

How do we get back to that creative inner being?  Find the time to unplug, rest, spend time with good friends who lift you up, read a book, or get back to nature.  Find the things that fill your soul and replenish you.  Protect yourself against the barrage of negative feedback we get from the world every day.  Never let the world suggest that you are average.   

We tend to believe that the doorway to our happiness swings outward so we end up chasing things that distract us.  I suggest that the doorway to our happiness swings inward.   I believe that everything we need to be happy and successful already exists inside of us.  Perfectly formed, magical and just waiting to be discovered again.