Holding onto past beliefs
In her book, Who You Were Meant to Be, Lindsay C. Gibson writes about the extent to which people get turned around in childhood by family dysfunction and trauma, making it hard to see clear how to pursue dreams and live an authentic, truly fulfilling life. What she calls the “ego” masquerades as conscience, guiding you to carry out as an adult, the negative beliefs you learned about yourself in childhood.
Dreams are for adults too
Guilt, learned helplessness and hopelessness are among the tools the ego uses to limit your ability to move forward in life, according to Gibson. I find that meditating and talking to like-minded individuals is helpful for becoming more aware of the ways in which I hold myself back. The ego wins if we never question why we abandoned our dreams.
The bedrock of your creativity
As you emerge from emotional paralysis, you experience the richness of life. The guilt, grief, anger and “otherness” transmute into fertile ground for creativity. There is so much art out there born of deep, dark emotions. I’m thinking for instance of, Tchaikovsky’s 6th Symphony, “Pathetique.” The emotions are so intense, yet beautiful.
How do you transform difficult emotions from your past into art?
The Inspiration for Violinists card deck
This “Past regrets” card is part of a 50 card deck. Every card has a unique image and text inspiring musicianship, mindfulness and spirituality.